Severus' Rose Year 1
by WrittenWord1
Summary: It's back! A new formulation of the story I started awhile ago. Snape discovers that "The Girl Who Lived" is his daughter. Will loosely follow the books, but the premise will disrupt canon quite a bit.
1. Chapter 1

"_Severus! That's too high!" Lily scolded her husband as he lay on the floor, tossing their year-old child in the air._

_Severus smirked, catching his daughter as she screeched in delight. He brought her close to him, and stage whispered conspiratorially in her ear. "Sorry, Rosie, your mummy says we can't play anymore. Apparently being a world class Potions Master does not mean I'm capable of catching a baby."_

"_Use your world class skills to put her down for a nap, Potions Master, now that you have her all riled up." Lily shook her head, unable to hide her smile at the transformation the baby had on her normally stoic husband. She could hardly remember a time, even as a child, when Severus would have been on the floor, let alone lying on his back, robes askew, hair spilling across the carpet. His usual obsession with order and propriety had considerably lapsed with the birth of the dark haired baby._

_Severus rolled to his feet, cradling his daughter against his chest. "Okay, baby girl, let's go upstairs." He walked gracefully up the stairs to the nursery, and sat in the rocking chair near the window, letting the child snuggle into his robes._

Severus Snape woke from his dream with a feeling of peace. Even though he knew it was a ridiculous dream, he much preferred the after effects to that of his nightmares. Severus had stood amazing amounts of pain in the years he'd served as a spy, infiltrating Voldemort's inner circle. He'd been both a caster and receiver of the Cruciatus curse, and although he'd tried to numb himself to the torture, he'd been more successful in that regard when being on the receiving end. There were many parts of his life that were beyond his control, not least the fact that he could be called at any time.

However, today his main concern was finding robes in any shop in Diagon Alley that did not have some kind of garish lining. He wouldn't need new robes at all, he thought, irritated, if the old crackpot that called himself his father hadn't burned all but the ones he had on. Probably on his mother's orders, he scowled to himself.

When he'd accepted Albus and Minerva's adoption during his third year, he'd been thankful to not be returning to his childhood home at Spinner's End, at least for awhile. He'd supposed, at 13, that the adoption had meant that he would have parents until he was of age. What he hadn't realized was that he would be 31 years old and still being told what to wear.

"_Severus, you have potion stains everywhere!" Minerva scowled into his closet. "You should go this weekend and be refitted. Some of these you've had since you started teaching!" She turned to her husband, who was sitting in an armchair next to the fireplace, popping gummi bears into his mouth. "Albus, give your son money for robes."_

"_Mother—_

"_Consider it an early birthday gift." Minerva pulled old robes from the closet, throwing them on a pile in the middle of the floor._

"_Mother, my birthday is more than six months away." Severus crossed his arms over his chest, knowing better than to physically interfere with his Minerva's mission._

"_A very early birthday gift, then."_

"_Father!"_

_Albus raised his eyebrows. "Just go shopping, my boy. Your mother wants you to have nice things."_

"_It's a ridiculous waste of money."_

_Albus sighed, just on the edge of irritation. "Young man, your mother has asked you to do this. If you can't consider it a gift from your parents, then you may consider it an order from your employer." He held up a hand when Severus glared and started to retort. "If you feel you need to argue with me, your mother and I could always plan to go with you to make sure it gets done."_

_Severus closed his mouth quickly. It was infuriating that the man had the ability to make his son, the fearsome Potions Master, feel like a 13-year-old who'd been cheeky._

Saturday at Diagon Alley was everything Severus hated. People, children, couples who looked dangerously close to procreation. It was irritating. He checked his watch. He wanted to get to Madam Malkins and back to Hogwarts before noon. No need to be in the city when everyone started crowding Fortescue's Ice Cream, rendering children's hands sticky. He had argued briefly that morning that he could just as easily Owl-order new robes, but Minerva was insistent that he be refitted.

"_It will do you good to get out, Severus." Minerva said decidedly. "It wouldn't kill you to see people more often. I was in Madam Malkin's last week, and there is a delightful new shop girl working. She's just a little younger than you, and single."_

_Severus rolled his eyes. "Mother, tell me that you didn't ask the woman her age and marital status."_

"_I most certainly did. You're a young man, Mr. Snape, but you won't be forever." She pointed her finger at him, the way she had when he was 16 and had tried to drop Transfiguration from his schedule, jabbing as she told him that he was going to listen to her or else._

He managed to be fitted and sold robes at Madam Malkins without running into the "delightful new shop girl". It was half past eleven when he finally was able to extract himself from fabric choices and sleeve width measurements. Still intent on being back in his lab by noon, he decided that a brief stop at the Apothecary wouldn't hurt. Nor would a glance into Obscurus Books to see what was new.

Twenty minutes later, the owner of a new box of Master Marrion's "Unsmashable" vials, Severus stepped out onto the street, ready to apparate home. Unfortunately, he found Lucius Malfoy directly in his path.

"Lucius," Severus inclined his head briefly.

"Severus," Lucius did not return the small bow, instead raised his head higher. "Come with me."

Severus hated that fact that he followed this man without protest. At Hogwarts, Lucius had been five years ahead, wealthy, pureblooded, and powerful. Lucius had preyed immediately on the fact that Severus was a terrified first year, with hardly any self-esteem after years of his father's verbal abuse. Years later, Severus was still the victim of Lucius' pull.

After the older boy graduated, he became the person who encouraged Severus' rebellion. Carefully twisting his mind, guiding him into taking the Mark, waiting to go in for the kill until Lily had married. James Potter no less. Severus fought back the wave of nausea that accompanied that thought. Anyone who said that Voldemort was the poster boy for Slytherin was wrong. Lucius Malfoy was the epitome of Slytherin manipulation.

Severus followed Lucius as he turned down Knockturn Alley and entered Borgin & Burkes. Without even glancing at the proprietor, the blond man swept to the back of the store, opening the door to the storage room and halting. It was the first time since he'd ordered Snape after him that he'd bothered to look at the younger man.

Severus had always wondered how Lucius could be so terrifying while smiling. He could see the wand in the other man's hand, a sign that his constant Death Eater vigilance had never faded.

"I saw Dumbledore at the Ministry last week," Lucius began. "Do you have any idea why he would have been there?"

Severus knew very well why Albus had been at the Ministry, but some instinct told him to lie. "Checking the records to make sure Hogwarts letters are accurate, I would imagine," Snape drawled. "Can't have letters being sent to squibs, can we?"

Lucius smirked. "I have it on authority that he was offered the Minister of Magic job. Is he going to take it?"

_Not a chance_, Severus thought. "I wouldn't know. I think he likes being at the school."

"He never was ambitious," Lucius sneered. "He was indeed in the records room, and from what I can tell from my little… stroll… through his mind, he was after one particular record. Do you have any idea what that was?"

Severus shook his head, sure that the other man was about to tell him. He fought back irritation at Lucius' invasion of Albus' thoughts. Legilimency was powerful magic. When Albus had taught Severus, he'd made it clear that the young man was never to use it for curiosity's sake.

"He seemed particularly interested in the file of Elizabeth Rose Evans. Any idea why?"

Severus scowled. "If my knowledge of recent history is correct, the girl is about to turn 11, meaning that she will be coming to Hogwarts in the fall. Our little celebrity returning to the Wizarding World."

Lucius' smile became more pronounced. "Did you ever wonder, my friend, why the child carries Lily's name and not Potter's?"

Severus told himself that he didn't care. He'd been devastated when Lily had married Potter, and crushed when Lily died. He hadn't felt so bad that Potter had been dead. For years he'd told himself that he'd been rejected because he wasn't Pureblood enough for Lily Evans, even though the back of his mind told him that it was ridiculous that a Muggleborn would have those prejudices. And he knew perfectly well the moment he'd lost Lily's love.

Dragging his attention back to Lucius, he shook his head. "I always assumed that she was ashamed for marrying such a man."

"It appears, from the child's records, that her birth certificate was altered. I went into the records room later and I could sense the fraudulent magic. After reversing the charm, do you know what I found?" This time, Lucius didn't give Snape a chance to answer. "It appears that Potter was not the child's father. In fact, it appears that Dumbledore was not there to check on the Savior of the Wizarding World as much as he was there to check on his granddaughter."

Severus' heart stopped for a moment. "Albus has no children, Lucius."

"He has you, no matter that he's not your birth father."

"Lucius, are you insinuating—

"I'm insinuating nothing, my friend." He pulled a piece of parchment from his robes. "I'm stating without reservation that you are the father of Elizabeth Rose Evans."

Severus raked his eyes over the certificate, his eyes falling on the section that asserted the child's birth parents. "Mother Lily (Evans) Snape Father Severus Tobias Snape".

With a deafening pop, Severus apparated to the gates of Hogwarts.

*S*S*

"Gummi Bears!" Severus felt stupid even saying the word, but he didn't have time to go through his usual argument with the lock on his father's office door about appropriate passwords. Once, when the password was "Sour Patch Kids" he'd refused to enter until Albus, sensing his son outside the door, had opened it, sparing him the need to play "guess that Muggle sweet" with the staircase.

He charged into the office, where Albus was sitting serenely behind the desk. Severus took a split second to decide if anger or manipulation was the way to go, and decided to throw his Slytherin blood to the wind and get right to the point. It wasn't as if he needed confirmation, after all, the birth certificate had survived every spell he'd used to check that it was legitimate, even if he had done them while storming across the Hogwarts lawn.

He stalked to the desk and threw the certificate on the blotter, glaring at the man he'd trusted. "Explain." He demanded simply, in the voice he used when he caught students out of bed after curfew.

Albus looked at the certificate. "What is that, my boy?"

"Don't you 'my boy' me, Albus! What did you do?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Severus, you haven't called me 'Albus' in private since you were 15."

"Your given name hardly has anything to do with this, _Albus_."

"You started calling me 'father' and sometimes 'dad' during your fifth year. After you called Lily Evans that foul name and then cried on my shoulder about how she'd never forgive you."

"My memory says that she never did forgive me, you meddling old man, but I have a feeling that you had something to do with that impression!"

Albus went on as if his son hadn't spoken. "My first instinct had been to scold you for using such language, especially against another student, but you were so broken that I didn't get a word in before you were in my lap, sobbing into my robes. Your mother and I had worked so hard to get you to accept physical comfort, with not too much success, but there you were, nearly 16 and sitting on my knee." He shook his head. "You were such an angry child." He paused again. "She was the only one who ever made you happy."

Severus' expression softened at 'she'. He sank down in the chair before his father's desk. "What happened?" He looked pleadingly at Albus.

Dumbledore rose and went to his Pensieve, gesturing for the younger wizard to come to him. "It might be easier, my child, if I could show you." He used his wand to draw a long silvery line from his temple, and dropped it into the basin. Then he stood behind his son, hands gripping his upper arms. "Whenever you're ready." Severus took a deep breath, and leaned forward.

*S*S*

_Lily and Severus sat on the sofa in their living room at Spinner's End, baby Elizabeth in Lily's arms, chewing on Severus' finger with her gums. Albus sat in the armchair near the fireplace._

"_It isn't safe anymore," the bearded wizard said softly, as if he didn't want the baby to hear. "Voldemort is more powerful everyday," he ignored the visible wince of the other two adults at the name. "He will come to force Severus into service. The man is not all that different from the Hitler of decades ago. He sees someone that would be useful, and he will force their allegiance, no matter the consequences." He paused. "James is willing to take Lily and Elizabeth into hiding in Godric's Hollow."_

"_Never!" Lily said sharply, causing the baby on her lap to look up, her lip trembling in a threatened cry._

_Severus took Elizabeth from his wife's lap and cuddled her to his chest. "It's okay, baby. Don't cry. Mummy isn't angry with you." He put a hand on Lily's shoulder. "This will be over soon, love. You and Elizabeth can go and be safe, and I'll come for you the moment he's defeated." _

"_Not a chance!" Lily glared at her husband. "You listen to me, Severus Snape—_

"_No, you listen to me, Lily." His voice was even. The temper flare-ups were his wife's talent, not his. "You are going to take our child and go to safety. The Order will continue its work. When we are successful, I will retrieve you."_

"_Of all the chauvinistic—_

"_This is not the time for you to become a women's liberation advocate, Lily. You've served the Order well for years, but now you have to protect our child. The only reason you are going and not me is that I have a larger target on my back." He returned her glare until he sensed her starting to break. "Father, take Elizabeth for a moment." He handed the child off to Albus just before Lily dissolved. He caught her as she leaned into his chest._

_Dumbledore watched, turning Elizabeth towards him when she became agitated at her mother's sobs. "It's okay, my little one." The baby struggled against him, kicking her legs as hard as she could, trying to escape._

"_I'm never going to see you again," Lily whispered, once her sobs had eased enough to speak. _

_Severus shook his head. "Don't you dare say it. We've always known that this day would come. It's the reason Elizabeth has no name ties to me. It's the reason why we have a plan in place. It's time to follow that plan." He tilted her head up. "Lily, I love you and our daughter more than anything. I can't explain to you how much I want to be with you. But I want your safety more. We will be together again." He kissed her gently._

*S*S*

Severus staggered out of the pensieve and found that Albus was still gripping his arms. "We sent them off," Albus whispered to his son's back. "Then I modified your memory so that you wouldn't remember, so that Voldemort couldn't know where they were taken." He paused. "That's the part I'll regret as long as I live." He turned Severus to face him, looking into his eyes. "I made it so that Lily never spoke to you again after the day you called her a 'mudblood'. I made you think that she had married James Potter and had a child. I never thought…" His voice almost broke. "I never thought that you would react to their marriage the way you did. I never thought you'd willfully go to him, join him, turn from the Light, no matter how briefly. I didn't know how deeply you'd loved her, even as a child. I thought if I took you back to before your romantic relationship started, that you wouldn't hurt so much over her loss."

Severus had been quiet through the whole story, and after Albus finished, he sank down the wall to the floor, leaning his head in his hands. "Dad…" he whispered through his hands. Albus sat beside him, wrapping his arms around his son. They sat like that for a long time, until Albus felt the younger wizard relax against his shoulder. Severus was quiet again, Dumbledore whispering soothing words to him, rubbing his back.

Finally the dark haired wizard mumbled something into his father's chest. Dumbledore pushed him away gently. "What?"

"Is she really with Lily's sister?"

Albus nodded. "Yes. We needed a family member to support the blood wards, and we weren't sure the Voldemort had gone. It was too dangerous to return her to you, especially since you were… what you were." He brushed Severus' hair from his face.

"She's supposed to be at Hogwarts in the Fall." Severus said quietly, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet and deposited on the sofa in the office.

Albus sighed and sat beside his son. "She is. However, we've encountered a bit of a problem."

Severus' heart leapt to his throat. He didn't have all his memories back, but his love for his daughter was as strong as it had been a decade before. "What?"

"Her letters keep coming back. I went to the hall of records to check that we had a correct address when Minerva told me, but it seems that it is correct." He summoned a roll of parchment and unrolled it to the "E" section. Severus ran his eyes over the list.

_Miss E. Evans_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

UNDELIVERED

_Miss E. Evans_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

UNDELIVERED

_Miss E. Evans_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

UNDELIVERED

The list kept going, as if Elizabeth's home had been pelted with letters that were somehow not given to her. "What do they mean, 'The Cupboard under the Stairs'?" Severus asked, his voice dangerously low. "Does that mean they are making my child sleep in a cupboard?"

"Maybe it is a space that was converted to a bedroom," Albus offered.

"If that was the case, don't you think the letters would read 'The BEDROOM under the Stairs'?" Severus ground out. "The letters are going to her, that means she's there, and that she's alive. Why isn't she getting them?"

"I don't know, son. But I was going to go send Hagrid soon if she didn't get the letter. It's only June. I didn't want to start worrying until next month."

Severus rerolled the parchment. "I want my memories back." He looked at his father.

Albus sighed. "It would be painful. I took them away because I didn't want you to be in pain."

Severus gritted his teeth. "I want to have the memories of what I'm sure was the best time in my life back. Please."

Albus looked hard at the younger wizard. "It will work better if you can go directly to sleep," he said quietly. He summoned a house elf and ordered dinner. When it appeared, he pointed to the plate. "Eat, then get ready for bed. You'll sleep in your room here tonight."

Severus started to protest, Albus' directions grating on him. "Father—

"Don't argue with me, young man." Albus said, the events of the day had clearly tired him. "Do as you're told. Returning memories is as physically painful as it will be emotionally painful for you. You will stay here tonight so that I can monitor you, or we won't do this at all."

Severus nodded, wondering why he still disliked being scolded this late in life. When he was a teenager, and Albus had scolded him and sent him to his room, he had dreamed of a day when he would be able to tell the old man off. It appeared that the day would never come.

Albus watched his son eat, glaring at him when he tried to get up after only a few bites. When he'd eaten enough, the older wizard finally waved him towards the door that connected the office to the quarters he shared with his wife and, several years ago, Severus. He leaned back in his chair and waited. Severus had spent many nights in his room in his parents' quarters. Between the number of times he'd been grounded to his room, the Friday nights that Minerva insisted that he stay each week, and the times when he'd locked himself there after an altercation with James and his friends, he'd spent almost more time there than in the dorm.

Severus wished that Dumbledore had taken away other memories of his childhood. Perhaps any interaction he'd ever had with James Potter. But the world-class wizard could only meddle with the flimsy fabric of the human mind so much.

Albus heard the door to the quarters open, and saw his son in black pajamas. "Ready?" He asked gently, crossing the floor and ushering Severus back inside before closing the door firmly. Just inside the door was the small living room, with doors off that room leading to bedrooms, a private study for both Albus and Minerva, and some rooms that Severus had never entered. Albus lead Severus into his childhood bedroom, still decorated exactly as it had been. Severus lay on the bed, not looking at Albus until he heard the man snort with laughter.

"I beg your pardon?"

Albus smirked. "Sleep on top of the bedspread now, do you? What would your mother say?" Severus rolled his eyes and stood again, yanking the covers back before lying down and pulling the blankets back over himself. Dumbledore sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the covers straight, tucking them around his shoulders.

"Dad," Severus groaned.

"I'm going to do this, and then give you a sleeping draught. You should be able to sleep through the pain. Tomorrow we'll deal with everything else." Dumbledore raised his wand. "Are you ready?"

"I'm going to Surrey."

Albus paused. "Alright, Severus. Now close your eyes and relax." Severus obeyed, trying to calm himself as he heard Albus murmur the spell.


	2. Chapter 2

Severus woke the next morning to see Albus sitting in an armchair beside his bed. "You didn't need to stay here," he said quietly, sitting up.

Albus shook his head. "It's not like I haven't slept here before." He smirked at his son. "Remember when you had Dragon Pox when you were 14?" He smoothed the blankets. "The only child I'd ever known that didn't get them in grammar school."

"You do know that if I ever had an excuse to meddle with your memories that I would choose to get rid of a few of the more embarrassing ones?" Severus grumbled, pulling the covers off and standing by the bed.

"How do you feel?"

"Fine. A little bit of a headache still, but otherwise not bad."

"Emotionally?" Albus put his hand on Severus' shoulder. Snape looked at him calmly.

"I always knew I lost her. At least now I know that she forgave me for that day. The only thing I have left to feel guilty about is that I sent her to Godric's Hollow. However," he pulled trousers and a shirt from the back of the desk chair, "I am perfectly comfortable blaming you for that right now, or maybe Potter." He smirked to himself. "Yes, Potter, I think. And Black, of course. I ought to go to Azkaban to kick that bastard in the groin a few hundred times, then rip him apart…" His eyes glowed for a moment. "But right now, I need to find my daughter." He dressed and donned his robes.

"You should take Hagrid with you."

Severus sighed. "If I need help, I'll send for it." He gripped his wand.

Albus nodded. "Go. Bring her here when you find her."

Severus nodded, headed for the fireplace. "Their home is connected to the Floo?"

"Only to the one in my office."

Severus nodded again before walking into the office, grabbing a handful of powder from the candy dish on the mantle, throwing it into the fire and stepping in before intoning "Dursley residence" and disappearing.

*S*S*

There was something wrong with the floo. When he arrived at the Dursley's fireplace, there was wood blocking the exit. Severus crossed his arms, looking at the crude wall from inside. There was a chance he'd arrived at the wrong place. If that were the case, blasting his way into the house would be, at the very least, embarrassing. If he knew more about the house, he could apparate, but he wouldn't want to end up in a dog's cage or something. Of course, if Elizabeth was in there, so hurt or sick she couldn't get her letter, he wasn't sure that he cared about the chance for embarrassment or being bitten by a dog. He needed to get rid of the wood.

_Confringo_ might cause too much of a blast. He didn't want to destroy the house, much less himself. Coming through the wood with a conjured ax would possibly send the wrong signal, especially if Elizabeth was in the living room. _Deprimo_ might cause similar problems as the blasting curse, but would be less likely to destroy the house. He didn't know how the spell would react when cast in such a small space. _Calm down, Snape, think clearly_ he thought to himself. After a moment, he rolled his eyes at his own idiocy. _You call yourself a Slytherin? Going around prepared to blast things like a Gryffindor._

He raised his wand. _Evanesco_! The wall of wood before him vanished. He found himself staring out into a modest living room. He stepped out of the floo and straightened his robes. He glanced around the quiet room. There were photos along the mantle. He looked over them, recognizing Lily's sister, Petunia, from childhood. It was a shame, he thought wryly, that she hadn't grown into her obscenely long neck. At least he knew he was in the right house.

In the pictures, Petunia and… Vernon? Severus thought back to the limited interaction he'd had with his brother-in-law. Vernon. In the pictures, Petunia and Vernon were holding a plump boy of various ages. Severus could vaguely remember that Petunia had a child, about Elizabeth's age, but couldn't remember the child's name. He looked for a picture that included a little girl, but there weren't any. This did not help his anxiety level.

He walked further into the house, not hearing anyone, and wondering where they could be. _Of course, you dolt, _he muttered aloud. _It's Sunday, they're probably doing something._ He remembered that when he was still living at Spinner's End, Tobias would go fishing on Sundays and Eileen would go shopping. Often he'd stay home. It was the best part of his week. He heard a crash coming from the kitchen and he leapt in that direction, wand drawn.

On the floor, surrounded by a shattered drinking glass, was a dark-haired, green-eyed child. He suddenly wished he hadn't worn robes. This was the most Muggle home he'd ever seen. He got the idea that this child hadn't seen robes since she was a baby.

The green eyes looked up at him, frightened. "I'm sorry!" The girl cried, trying to sweep the broken glass with her hands.

"Stop!" Severus strode to the middle of the room and plucked the girl from the shards. Sitting her in one of the kitchen chairs, he crouched in front of her. "Are you hurt?"

The girl shook her head, tucking her arms behind her back. Severus pulled them back out and looked at the scratches. He looked up, and her hair slipped off her forehead, revealing a lightning bolt scar. He sucked in his breath at the sight. "You have glass in your hands, Elizabeth. Stay very still." He raised his wand and cast a cleaning and healing charm. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" He looked sternly at her. "Don't lie to me again." The girl, eyes riveted on her healed hands, pointed to her ankle, where there was another piece of glass.

Severus waved his wand again, then ordered her to stay where she was. He went back to the mess, vanishing the glass slivers before turning back to the girl. He looked at her quietly. Lily's eyes looked back at him. She was so small. She was 10, but she was short and thin, and her clothes hung off of her as if they'd been fitted on someone else.

Elizabeth suddenly seemed to realize something. "I'll finish washing the dishes, I promise. Please don't tell my Aunt and Uncle!"

"Where are your relatives?" He asked quietly, wondering why his daughter was alone in the house. Ten was too young for that, wasn't it?

"They're at the zoo. It's Dudley's birthday." The girl looked up at him. "I mowed the lawn and vacuumed, but I still have to dust and clean the bathrooms and finish the dishes so I can cook dinner." She looked shy all of a sudden. "Thank you for fixing the glass. How? I…never mind."

Severus crouched in front of her. "Why would you have to do all those things?"

She looked at him, then stared at the floor. "My Aunt and Uncle took in a freak like me, but I have to earn my keep."

Severus felt his blood boil. "Who called you a freak?" The child recoiled and he tried to soften his tone. "Elizabeth," He tipped her face up gently. "Did your relatives call you that?"

She nodded. "Things happen around me," she whispered. "I'm bad." Suddenly, she looked at him in horror. "I'm not supposed to talk to you."

"It's alright, Elizabeth, I'm a friend. What kinds of things happen to you?"

"Once my teacher's hair turned blue," she said softly. "And then once I was running and I ended up on the school's roof." She blushed. "I don't try to make them happen! I promise!"

_She accidentally apparated,_ Severus thought, swelling with pride. He looked down at his little girl. "Elizabeth, you didn't do anything wrong. You did accidental magic."

The child's eyes widened. "You can't say that! Uncle Vernon will be mad!"

Severus cocked his head to the side. "It's not a bad word. It's true. You're a witch, Elizabeth. Just like your mum."

Elizabeth shook her head vigorously. "My mum and dad are dead. They died in a car crash because my dad was a rotten drunk." She whispered the last part.

Severus scowled, then remembered something. "Elizabeth, what was your father's name?"

"James," Elizabeth answered, then put a hand over her mouth. "I'm not supposed to know that," she said earnestly. "I just saw a picture, and there was writing on the back. Aunt Petunia has a box, but I'm not supposed to know about it. Uncle Vernon doesn't know about it."

Severus sighed, though he didn't really have a problem with James being remembered as a rotten drunk. "Elizabeth, do you want to keep living here?"

Elizabeth looked confused by the question. "I have to live here. No one else wants me."

Severus shook his head. "Elizabeth, your parents did not die in a car crash. Your mother and James were killed by a very bad man. But James was not your father." He paused, wondering how to say it. "I'm your father."_ Artlessly done, Severus. You could have been gentler,_ he scolded himself.

Elizabeth seemed to consider the point. "Then why do I live here?"

The question stabbed Severus in his heart. "I was in a lot of danger, when you were a baby, and I thought you would be safe here." He looked her over. "It appears, however, that I was wrong. Tell me, do you do all the chores around here?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"And what happened if you don't?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Not supposed to talk about it," she whispered.

"It's alright, I'm not going to let anything else happen to you. Do they hit you?"

Elizabeth shook her head, and Severus breathed slightly easier. "They lock me in my room sometimes, with no food."

Severus glared at no one in particular. It seemed to him that "sometimes" came often due to his daughter's stature. Lily had been small, but not this small. "Show me your room, Elizabeth." Hesitantly, she slipped from the chair and walked to the door under the stairway. She opened the door to reveal the cupboard, with a pallet and a blanket.

Severus was not altogether surprised; he'd had warning with the letters after all. But the reality made the knife in his heart twist. "Elizabeth, I want you to get everything that belongs to you. You're coming with me."

Elizabeth looked both afraid and hopeful. She went into the cupboard and returned with a grey wolf plush. "Lunus" he said softly, holding out his hand for the toy. Elizabeth tentatively handed it to him.

"How do you know his name?"

*S*S*

_Remus Lupin sat on the sofa, holding his goddaughter. He cradled her in one arm, and made the plush wolf dance with the other hand. She giggled every time he moved the wolf, and even more so when he gave it a voice. "Hello, Miss Evans. My name is Lunus."_

_Severus looked on with amusement. "I shouldn't let you hold her, you know. She's going to get confused over who her father is."_

_Remus rolled his eyes. "Not a chance, my friend, she knows who you are." To prove his point, he lifted the child up. "Elizabeth, where's Daddy?" The child grinned and kicked her legs towards Severus, drool bubbling from her mouth. "a-ay!"_

*S*S*

Severus' lips turned up a bit. "Your godfather gave this to you when you were born. You wouldn't sleep without it." He tucked the plush under his arm. "Get the rest of your things, Elizabeth, and we will go."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I could bring the blanket, but it isn't very warm."

Severus narrowed his eyes, realizing that the child was not joking. She had nothing other than the grey oversized clothes on her back, and Lunus. "Don't worry, Elizabeth, I have blankets." He led her to the fireplace before he realized that the Dursleys did not have floo powder. _Of course not_, he thought to himself, then knelt down. "Elizabeth, we are going to apparate. It will feel similar to when you went up on the roof, but I know how to take us where we want to go. I have to hold you tightly. Is that alright?"

Elizabeth nodded, so he handed her Lunus. "Hold on to him." Severus picked her up, holding her against his robes and with a POP they were gone.

*S*S*

Elizabeth threw up when they arrived at the gates of Hogwarts. Or, rather, released a substantial amount of water from her stomach. Severus held her hair back from her face, then wiped her mouth with a damp handkerchief.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Tears formed in her eyes, and Severus pulled out a dry handkerchief to wipe them away.

"Hush. Everyone is sick after his or her first apparation." He pointed at the castle. "This is Hogwarts, so we're almost there. Are you ready?" Elizabeth looked uncertainly at the incline, but nodded. She took a few steps, but he could tell she was weak, and decided to pick her up, carrying her against his shoulder like he did when she was a baby. She was so small, and he could feel her ribs through her shirt. He paused to brush the hair from her face and to make sure that was holding Lunus.

It was strange, the transformation, he thought to himself. A day ago, he felt no need to be gentle to anyone for any reason. Even Albus and Minerva, who loved him, were not immune to his quick temper. He loved them, he supposed, much the way he'd loved his mother when she was alive. But the love sometimes felt more like debt. As if he owed them his allegiance for everything they'd done for him over the years. They would have never married if it wasn't to give him a two parent home. Albus was 44 years Minerva's senior. Old enough to be her grandfather. But Minerva insisted that Severus have a father who loved him like Tobias never did.

Today, he wanted nothing else than to protect the child in his arms. When he'd first gotten over the shock of seeing her, he'd felt an incredible amount of guilt. It was his fault that she had been in the house at Godrick's Hollow that night. But he had to push the feeling down. It was not the time to wallow. He needed Madam Pomfrey to take a look at the girl, and then figure out what to do from there.

They arrived at the doors, and Severus pushed his way inside and up the stairs to the Hospital Wing. "Poppy!" He called to the mediwitch, who came out of her office.

"Severus? Who do you have there?"

"I need you to examine her, she may have some damage, I'm not sure… I mean..." Severus Snape had never stuttered in his life, or at least his adult life. He prided himself on his command of the language, but he was lost on how to explain it to Poppy.

The witch looked confused. "Lay her on the bed, and let me see." Severus tried to put the child down, but she clung to his robes, casting frightened eyes at Poppy.

"Calm down," Severus said softly. "This is Madame Pomfrey. She will check and see if you are hurt anywhere. I need you to lie on the bed."

Elizabeth shook her head and burrowed deeper against him. Poppy looked on, waiting. The Severus Snape she knew would, at the very least scold the child, and at the most push her away. But, as she watched, he did neither of those things. Instead, he sat on the bed, and gently guided her away from him chest.

"Elizabeth, do you hurt anywhere?" He asked gently. The girl nodded. "Where?"

"My stomach," she answered slowly, "and my head."

"I want to help you, but I need Madam Pomfrey to help me find out how to make you feel better. Lie down on the bed, and I'll stay right here."

After a moment of thought, Elizabeth nodded, and allowed him to lay her on the bed. He stayed beside her while Poppy cast a diagnostic charm over her thin body. Reading the parchment from her file that was automatically filled with results, she pulled three potions from the cabinet.

"Sweetheart, I need you to drink these." She handed the first one to the dark haired child. "This one will make your stomach feel better." Elizabeth looked at Severus, who nodded, before she drank the vial. "The next one will help your head, and this last one will help you take a nap." Poppy watched as Elizabeth drank, and then gave her a glass of water. "Drink that, and then we'll get you tucked in." She waved her wand, and Elizabeth's grey sweat suit was transfigured into pajamas. The child was so startled and she dropped the water, and it went all over her and the bed.

"I'm sorry!"

Severus shushed her, picking her up and letting Poppy dry the bed and refill the water glass while he dried her clothes. "No harm done." He held her until she calmed, then tucked her into bed. "We'll leave the water right here incase you're thirsty." He smoothed the blankets. "Go to sleep; I'll be right here."

The two adults watched her fall asleep, then Poppy turned to Severus. "She was frightened by transfiguration? Was she raised by Muggles?"

Severus nodded, running his hand through his hair. "Muggles in the worst sense, Poppy."

"How did you run across her?"

Severus met the witch's eyes. "This is Elizabeth Evans. She's my daughter." He could tell the witch was going to ask more, and he just couldn't take the conversation right now. "What did you find out?"

Pomfrey consulted the chart. "Malnutrition resulting in an unhealthy weight for her age. She's 10?" Severus nodded.

"Almost 11."

"She's much too small. She'll need a nutrient potion and all the food she can get." Poppy looked at the chart again. "There are lots of injuries that were probably sustained over the course of a normal childhood that went untreated. I don't see evidence of immunizations or other well-child care. We'll immunize her, and make sure that any of her old injuries aren't doing her any harm."

Severus pressed his lips together briefly. "I told Albus that I would bring her to him when I brought her back." He strode to the fireplace and used it to fire call Albus, who arrived a moment later through the floo.

The headmaster looked down at the girl in the bed and smiled. "She looks just like you, Severus."

Severus snorted. "She looks like Lily."

Albus shook his head. "Maybe in her eyes. But look at her now, with her eyes closed. She looks just like you." Severus looked, and saw his hair, soft and dark and gently curly against the pillow. It was just like his had been as a child, before potions made it difficult to care for. He saw his cheekbones, the ones Minerva said were the envy of women who wished they had his bone structure. But she had Lily's nose, thank goodness, and Lily's lips. A perfect blend of the two of them in a 10-year-old package. With a lightning scar on her forehead.

Poppy put a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be out for another hour or so, Severus. Why don't you go get something to eat?"

Severus shook his head, and transfigured one of the wooden chairs into an armchair. "I'll stay here. I don't want her to wake up without me. If you could have one of the elves—

"Of course." Albus summoned an elf and ordered lunch for two, transfiguring another chair to sit beside his son and granddaughter.

*S*S*

Elizabeth didn't wake an hour later. Or two hours later. When she finally did wake, she found Severus asleep in the chair beside her bed, and a man with a white beard watching her. When he saw her wake, he smiled. "Your father can fall asleep anywhere," he said, gesturing to Severus. "When he was a little older than you, he used to fall asleep in the library chairs, head on the table." He shook Severus' shoulder. "Wake up, Sev, your daughter is awake."

"How do you feel?' Severus opened his eyes and sat forward, putting a hand on her forehead,

"Better." Her voice was stronger now that she was less afraid. Severus had brought her here so gently. He'd made her feel better and put her in this bed, the first one she'd ever slept in. "The bed is so soft," she said, smiling up at him.

Severus took his hand from her head and rested it on the bed. "I thought you were a bit feverish earlier, but you feel fine now." He pulled the blankets back a bit. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, sir. If you show me where the kitchen is, I can make something for you."

Severus scowled. "Elizabeth, I asked if you were hungry. And since you said yes, I will ask the elves to bring you something to eat. My job as your father is to provide for you, not the other way around." Elizabeth bit her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry."

Severus sighed. Perhaps he'd been too harsh. It seemed that his quick tongue had not been reversed by the return of memories. He could remember not being so stern, so sharp when he'd been married, but the war had changed him.

"It's alright. I'm not angry." He put his hands under her arms and pulled her into a sitting position. "Elizabeth, your relatives did not treat you in a manner that I would have hoped for. From now on, you will eat three meals a day. Those meals will be cooked for you. You will sleep in a bed, and you will not do chores that are inappropriate for your age. Do you understand?"

Elizabeth nodded, sure now that the man who'd come to rescue her was crazy. Why wouldn't he want her to cook for him? Why would he want to do chores himself?

Elizabeth bit her lip again. "How will I earn my stay?"

Severus frowned again. "Elizabeth Evans, you do not have to earn your way. You are a child. Your mother and I had a child because we wanted to care for you and watch you grow up. We did not have you to double as a house elf." He stood. "Speaking of a house elf, let's get you some food." He summoned an elf. "What would you like?"

Elizabeth was speechless. She'd never been asked that question, nor did she know how to answer it. She could sense by now that nothing her relatives had fed her would be seen as acceptable by Severus.

"Elizabeth?" He could see the girl's discomfort. He sat back down beside her. "Never mind. Francy," he looked at the elf. "Please bring a turkey sandwich, some fruit, carrots, and a glass of milk." The elf disappeared. "I would have ordered dessert, but your grandfather is a walking candy factory. I'm sure he's got something he's dying to give you." He looked at his father. "One piece of something, Father, and only after she's eaten."

Elizabeth couldn't remember a time when there had been any conversation about her needs, let alone as long as this one. Her eyes filled with tears in the intense hope that someone finally cared for her. Severus saw the tears and interpreted them as tears of discomfort. "Are you alright? Does your head hurt again?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Is it really going to be okay now? Do I really get to stay here?"

Severus' heart broke. "Elizabeth… come here." He sat in the armchair and pulled her into his lap. "Everything is going to be okay. I promise. And yes, you're going to stay. You're going to stay here until you're completely healed, and then I think we're going to go home for a little while."

"Home?"

"We have a house at Spinner's End. You lived there as a baby. I grew up in that house and your mother grew up nearby." Severus felt Elizabeth lay her head on his shoulder. "We'll stay there for the rest of the summer, and then we'll come back for school."

"We're in a school?"

Severus sighed. There was so much she didn't know. "We are at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"Like on my letter?"

Severus blinked. "Like your letter, yes. I thought you hadn't received them?"

"I got a look at the envelope before Uncle Vernon took it away. They just kept coming! Even through the fireplace!"

_That explains the boarded floo, _Severus thought. "That was your Hogwarts letter, telling you what you need for your first year and where to meet the train. I would imagine that you will receive one here soon. The owls know where to find you." He looked down at her. "Not that I don't already know what you need or where the train comes."

"Do you work here?"

"I do," Severus nodded solemnly. "I teach students how to make potions like the ones you drank earlier."

"Will you teach me?" Lily's eyes sparkled at him.

"Of course I will. If you apply yourself, you will be making potions in no time."

Albus smiled. _Leave it to Severus to make this into a lecture about hard work. _"You have quite a bit of Potions talent in your blood," Albus said from his chair. "Not to mention that your mother was excellent with Transfiguration."

Elizabeth's food arrived, but she made no move to get up from her father's lap. She ended up eating on his knee, getting crumbs all over his new robes. When she noticed the mess, she looked at him, eyes wide, but he stopped her before she could speak. "Young lady, if you keep apologizing for accidents, I don't know what I'm going to do with you." He picked up his wand from the table and waved it over his robes, cleaning them in an instant.

"Listen to me, Elizabeth." He looked into her eyes. "You are a child. You will make messes, break things, and make mistakes. We can clean up the messes and fix what is broken. We can work to make sure you don't make the same mistakes twice. But I am not your Uncle, Elizabeth. I'm not going to lock you up or starve you for dropping crumbs." He handed her the apple that was left on the plate. "Eat that, then we'll see what sugary nonsense your grandfather has."


	3. Chapter 3

"Twenty nine Knuts to a Sickle; seventeen Sickles to a Galleon," Severus said, spreading a handful of coins on the blanket. "It's simple enough."

"So…" Elizabeth looked at a Knut. "How many Pounds…?"

Severus considered the point. "A Galleon would buy, I suppose, as much merchandise as 5 Pounds. But it's better if you don't try to do the conversion. This is your money system now, as much as if you had moved out of Britain."

Elizabeth poked a silver Sickle with the tip of her finger, a slightly disappointed look on her face.

"What is it?" Severus frowned.

Elizabeth shrugged. "I guess… everything else here does something strange…"

Severus snorted. "You'd like your money to fly?"

Elizabeth blushed, dropping her eyes to her hands.

Severus cursed his quick tongue. "There is a bit of magic to the coins, actually," he said, pulling his coin pouch from his robes. "If you were to carry a bag this size full of 50 pence pieces, what do you think it would weigh?"

Elizabeth bit her lip. "A lot?"

Severus smirked. "Not an exact measure, but it will do for now. Hold out your hand." He waited while Elizabeth hesitantly complied, then laid the bag in her palm.

Elizabeth's eyes opened wider. "It's light!"

Severus nodded. "All our money is denominated in coin. Muggles have bank notes to make their currency weigh less. We have feather-light charms."

*S*S*

The little family spent a few nights in the hospital wing before Poppy finally declared that Elizabeth would be ready to leave the next day. During those days, Severus had taught his daughter everything he could about Hogwarts and their world. When Poppy assured him that she would be fit to travel, they were finishing a game of Wizard Chess.

"When we finish this, I'm going to go to Spinner's End for a few hours and get things ready for us to move in." Severus moved his pawn. "Will you be alright here? I can ask your grandmother to come sit with you."

"I'll be okay." She yawned. "Madam Pomfrey says she is going to give me a sleeping draught this afternoon."

Severus nodded. "You do as she says." He captured her king. "And practice your chess. Your pieces are going to stop following you if you let them be killed all the time." She made a face, and he smirked. "Alright, you rest. I'll be back later and we'll have dinner." He put the chessboard away before tucking her in.

*S*S*

He hadn't lived at Spinner's End for years. It was lighter, with newer furniture and paint than when he'd lived there as a child. Lily had seen to that. He looked around the living room, and cast a general cleaning charm. Then he moved to the kitchen, cleaning, restocking the cabinets and refrigerator. He wasn't much of a cook, but he could figure it out.

He cleaned his study and the entranceway, then made his way upstairs. Albus had scrubbed the whole house of Lily's influence, but now that Severus had his memories back, he could picture her in the room, piling an obscene number of pillows on the bed. He cast a cleaning charm here too, and considered vanishing the extra pillows. Somehow, he wasn't able to do it.

The room across the hall had been closed since Lily and Elizabeth had left for Godric's Hollow. Elizabeth's nursery. When he opened the door, he was hit with a wall of memories. Elizabeth rolling over. Elizabeth smiling at him. Elizabeth scuttling across the floor in that pre-crawling way. He looked up at the walls and smiled to himself.

*S*S*

"_Severus Tobias Snape, don't you DARE use that green in my child's room!" Lily pointed her wand at her husband's chest. "It's bad enough I married a Slytherin, but I'm not training another one!"_

"_Watch that wand, Lily. They'll take your lion credentials if you hurt me without being attacked." Severus flicked his wrist and sent green paint from the bucket neatly onto the walls._

_Lily scowled and flicked her own wand, replacing it with red._

_The fight was on. _

_Paint flew all over until they both lay, exhausted, on the floor of the nursery. Severus looked up at the walls and grinned crookedly. He rolled over to put his hand on Lily's stomach. "We'll have to scorgify the ceiling, you know. It looks ridiculous like that." He leaned over to speak to his unborn child. "It's alright, baby. When you're a Slytherin, you can forgive your mummy." _

_Lily grinned and put her hand over his. "Don't worry, baby. Lions eat snakes." She sat up to kiss him. "It needs furniture."_

*S*S*

Severus closed the door behind him and sat on the carpet, looking around at the white baby furniture surrounded by the red and green spattered walls. "Lily…" He whispered aloud. "What am I going to do?"

"Raise her, Severus. You signed on."

His head snapped up, and looked around. "Lily?"

"Open the top dresser drawer, Sev."

Severus pulled himself off the floor and followed her voice, thinking the whole time about how he ought to get his head checked. When he pulled open the drawer, he was greeted with piles of toddler clothes.

"Look under the clothes, Sev. In the box."

Mumbling about the fallacy of obeying a disembodied voice, and wondering just what evil force was afoot, Snape dug through the clothes and found a wooden box. Opening in, he drew in a breath. There, in the box, was a small gilded frame surrounding a portrait of his wife.

"Severus! You look awful," portrait-Lily scolded from her frame. "Haven't you slept?"

"Lily! You didn't tell me—

"What? That I was having a portrait made? We were in a war, Sev! We knew that one of us wasn't going to make it."

Severus rubbed his face with one hand. "You didn't feel like you needed to tell me that you were imbedding a PIECE OF YOURSELF into a picture?"

"A portrait, Sev." Lily sighed. "Can you get over being mad, Love?"

Severus sighed as well. "Lily… I really screwed up this time."

Lily looked at him with eyes he missed desperately. "Sev, you did what you thought you had to do. Where is my baby?"

Severus sighed. "I only just got her back from your sister. Damn it, Lily. I should never have—

"Severus Snape, stop it. I don't know the whole story, and I probably don't want to know. But I know that I'm not there, and our daughter is. So get it together. Our 10 year old daughter cannot sleep in a nursery."

Severus laughed. "It's what I came up here to fix, crazy woman!" He propped her portrait up on the dresser. "And…" a grin spread across his face. "I seem to be the only one capable of painting this time around, Lily Evans." He flicked his wand and covered the walls of the room with dove grey, lining the ceiling with a ring of emerald green.

"Slytherin colors!" Lily yelped from her painting.

"No, Love. The color of your eyes. And our daughter's."

A few more flicks of his wand and he smiled in satisfaction. The white four-poster bed was covered with a white comforter with emerald stitching. He smiled to himself, and went back downstairs to floo back to school and collect his child, but not before setting Lily's small portrait on his bedside table.

*S*S*

"It's her first time in the floo, Severus, so I want her to rest as soon as she gets home. You remember that it makes you a bit disoriented."

Severus nodded, and knelt down in front on Elizabeth. "We're going to go together. You never go through the floo on your own unless I give you permission. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." Severus had told her about the floo. She wasn't at all sure that she wouldn't be burned to a crisp, but all the adults she'd met so far went into the fireplace, disappeared, and then came back later, so she was willing to try.

Severus threw a handful of powder into the fire, and then grasped Elizabeth's hand before stepping in. "Snape Residence Spinner's End" he intoned, and they were pulled up and away.

*S*S*

Severus had always been good at floo travel. He usually arrived at his destination with absolutely no soot or stumbling.

Elizabeth, apparently, did not inherit his talent. She was covered in soot and coughing when they entered the living room. Severus had to catch her before she fell. "Whoa, Rosie. Careful." He waved his wand to get rid of most of the soot. "You, my child, need a bath. And then bed for you so that Madam Pomfrey doesn't have my head." He led her upstairs to the bathroom. "There are towels and a pair of pajamas inside. The pajamas aren't perfect, but they'll do until we can go to Diagon Alley and get some decent clothing." He waved her in. "When you're finished, your bedroom is across the hall. I'll wait for you there. Call if you need help." He shut the door to give her privacy.

15 minutes later, a clean girl made her way across the hall. Severus smiled a little at when he saw her wet hair. A wave of his wand and it was dry. He pulled back the blankets. "Let's get you into bed." He tucked her in. "Rest awhile. I'll wake you for lunch. I want you to stay in bed until I come for you, understand?"

"Yes, sir." She leaned against the pillows. This bed was even better than the one in the Hospital Wing.

Two hours later, he went back upstairs to find his daughter awake and in bed. He sat beside her. "Did you sleep at all?'

She nodded. "A little. But I wasn't really tired."

Severus smirked. "Alright. I cleaned your clothes," he pointed to the jeans and T-shirt he'd transfigured from her hospital pajamas that morning. "We'll have lunch and then talk a little." He pulled the blankets away. "Make your bed before you come down." There was no sense in not establishing chores immediately, really. If teaching had taught him anything, it was that children needed structure.

Elizabeth dressed and made the bed in less than 5 minutes, and appeared downstairs where Severus was assembling sandwiches. "Madam Pomfrey says that we need to be easy on your stomach. Just sandwiches and soup for awhile until you get used to eating regularly." He pointed at the table. "Sit down, this is almost ready."

Elizabeth sat and watched him cut the sandwiches and set one in front of her. He sat across from her to eat his own lunch. "Today, we need to get you settled in. Tomorrow we can go to Diagon Alley and get your school things and everything else you need." He picked up a letter with green writing from the table. "This came from you while you were upstairs. Wait," he said as she reached for her letter. "Eat, then mail." Elizabeth's shoulders sagged, but she didn't protest. As she ate, she read the outside of the envelope over and over.

_Miss E. Evans_

_Snape Residence_

_Spinner's End_

When they finished lunch, Severus handed the child her letter and they went into the living room to look it over. "I see they haven't changed the letter since I went to school," he said dryly. She looked up at him.

"Can you get all this stuff in London?"

"Diagon Alley, yes. It exists within Muggle London. We'll go tomorrow." He took the letter from her and laid it on the table. "Today, we need to work some things out."

Elizabeth looked at his expectantly.

"We need to go over some ground rules for here and for school." There was nothing Snape loved more than rules. They made him feel as if he had some measure of control. Not that the students ever followed any of them.

"I won't do anything bad, I promise. I don't mean for things to happen."

It took a moment for Severus to understand what she meant. "Elizabeth, no. I told you, those things were accidental magic. If you'd grown up in a wizarding household, those moments would have been celebrated, not punished. I'm just sorry that I wasn't there to see your first accidental moment. Your mother and I used to guess what it would be."

Elizabeth smiled a little. "I was in the backyard, pulling weeds when I was about 5. I heard Uncle Vernon yelling, and so I ran to the shed to hide. When I got there, I wished that I had Lunus and he appeared. That's the first one I can remember." Severus swelled with pride again.

"You, my child, are going to be a very powerful witch, I guarantee it." He tousled her hair. "However, that adds to our list of rules, so pay attention." He looked seriously at her. "First and foremost, there are many dangerous things in our world, Muggle and Wizard. When I tell you to avoid something I expect to be obeyed, just as I do when I tell you to do something. It's very important to your safety that you do what I tell you, especially since you are unfamiliar with this world." He paused. "Your safety is my first priority, and you'd do well to make it yours." Elizabeth nodded. "A verbal answer, please."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, second, you will be respectful of me and all adults that we encounter." He smiled at her. "That doesn't seem to be a problem so far, but it also means not lying, which we've already had trouble with." Elizabeth blushed, remembering the glass imbedded in her skin. She avoided his disapproving gaze.

"The last rule isn't really applicable now, but it will be soon. You are an underage witch, and so you can't perform magic outside of Hogwarts. You may be able to practice under my supervision, and of course you won't be in trouble for any accidental magic. But I don't want to find out that you've been using your powers improperly. I'm sure your grandfather would hate to have to expel you from Hogwarts." He looked at her with a sternness he usually reserved for errant students. "Even at school, you will never use your magic to hurt anyone or cause trouble."

"I won't, I promise. I wouldn't." Elizabeth looked at him worriedly, and Severus relented.

"I know." He moved her to his lap. "But I've seen peer pressure make good children do lots of things you wouldn't expect." He ran his fingers through her hair. "I want you to go to school and have friends and learn things and have fun…" He looked down at her. "But I just want you to remember that this is a great gift you have. That _we _have. We have an obligation to good over evil."

"Now," he said after a moment. "Do you have questions?"

Elizabeth pulled on the cuticles on her left hand. "Umm…" Severus put his hand over hers to stop her from making her hands bleed.

"Stop that. What are you thinking about?" He ducked his head a bit to look at her.

"What do I call you?" She looked up at him with those green eyes, then buried her face in his sweater in embarrassment.

Severus smirked. He'd wondered when they were going to have this discussion. The child had conspicuously avoided calling him anything other than "sir" for the past few days. "Well," he said gently, "when you were small you called me 'daddy' or at least as much of it as you could pronounce." He smiled over her head. "But I know that our relationship is a little _different_ right now, so until you feel comfortable calling me "father" or "dad" or anything else paternal, you can call me Severus. Or your mother used to call me "Sev" when she wasn't angry."

"Okay." The child nodded against his chest.

"Of course at school in class you need to call me "professor" or "sir", but outside of class we can be less formal." He shifted her to look at him. "Any other questions?"

"Why do you call me 'Rosie'?"

Severus grinned. "Your middle name is Rose. I wanted it to be your first name, so that I could have two flowers, Lily and Rose, but your mother thought her own name was silly, and refused to name you after a plant. So we settled for your middle name. But I started calling you 'Rosie' because it made your mother crazy. Nearly every time I did it for the first few months, she would yell 'Severus Snape! If you don't use our daughter's perfectly good given name, I'm going to hex out your tongue!' Not that she ever made good on that promise." He opened his mouth to show his intact tongue.

"How come I don't have your last name?" Elizabeth was going for broke now, getting answers before Severus remembered that questions were bad. Uncle Vernon always shouted when she asked questions.

"It was a bad time in the Wizarding world when we realized your mother was pregnant." The green eyes looked shocked, and he realized he'd been misunderstood. "Not because we were having a child," he clarified quickly. "We were so happy that were going to have you. We spent hours coming up with names and talking about how brilliant you were going to be. We talked about how you were going to go to Hogwarts, and what house you were going to be in." He smiled sadly. "But it was a dangerous time, and I had a lot of powerful enemies. It was important that we kept you safe. That's why your mother was with James in Godric's Hollow the night the Dark Lord came. We'd hidden you and Lily there, and wiped my memory clean in order to protect you. Albus really wanted you to take Potter's name, but your mother wouldn't hear of it."

"She didn't like him?"

Severus shook his head. "She liked him fine. They were friends in school. She said if she had to give you a name that wasn't mine, that you would have hers." He kissed the top of her head. "If some day, you'd like to change it, we can do that. But Evans is a perfectly respectable name, and you may find that bearing my last name could be more of a curse to you than it's worth."

"You don't have the Headmaster's last name either."

Severus sighed, "That is a whole different story entirely."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ask—

"It's alright, I'm not angry," Severus shook his head. "You can always ask me anything you want. I might not answer, but I won't be angry." He shifted her to his other leg. "Your grandmother adopted me when I was 13, after my mother died. She then married your grandfather so that I could have a shot at a normal childhood."

"You didn't have one before?"

"I grew up, until I was 13, in this house. My mother Eileen was a witch, but my father was a Muggle who hated magic."

"Do all Muggles hate magic?"

"Most Muggles don't know anything about it, but there are many Muggles who embrace the concept once they know. Your mother's parents loved that your mother was a witch. They were incredibly proud."

"Aunt Petunia didn't seem proud. She never talked about it."

"Well, Petunia was much the same as my father, although I think that her problem was more jealousy, and my father's was fear. He hated magic, and was fearful when I started exhibiting my accidental magic as a child."

"What did you do?"

"Things similar to you, changed colors of things, summoned things I wanted."

"Your father was angry?"

"He was. Tobias was, in general, angry most of the time anyway, but anything magical pushed him over the edge. He taught me most of what I know about how not to be a parent."

"But your mother was a witch."

"She hardly used magic. Definitely not in front of my father." He paused. "She was a good woman, but she completely deferred to my father's authority in a way I would never expect Lily to have done. It's one thing to respect your partner, and another to be so afraid of him that you cower to his every whim."

"But she could have just… I don't know, can't you do bad things to people with magic? That Black Lord killed Mum."

"The Dark Lord," Severus corrected, "And I suppose she could have. But as I said, she was a good woman, she wouldn't have used her magic to hurt people. Plus, the curse the Dark Lord used on your mother is illegal, it's one of the unforgivable curses that will land you in prison."

"So the Dark Lord is in prison?"

Severus took a deep breath. "No, he's not."

Elizabeth had known her father for mere days, and she could already sense when he didn't want to talk about something.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me right now."

He wrapped his arms tighter around the little girl. "Not today."

Elizabeth nodded, laying her head back on his shoulder. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Rescuing me. My room. Wanting me."

"You don't need to thank me, Elizabeth. I'm your father. But you are most welcome." He kissed the top of her head again and held the child tight. His child.


	4. Chapter 4

"So everyone at Diagon Alley is a wizard or a witch?" Elizabeth was bouncing a little in her chair the next morning, and Severus was starting to regret telling her that she could always ask questions.

"Most people. There will be a few Muggle parents and siblings of Hogwarts students." Severus took a sip of coffee. "Eat your breakfast."

"Is everything magical there?"

"There is quite a bit of magic, yes. Although you'll soon find that much in our world is the same as the Muggle world. We just do different things with it. Now eat your breakfast."

Elizabeth took a bite of toast. "Will I have robes like yours?"

"Yes. But we won't go at all if you don't settle down and _eat your breakfast_. Enough talking right now, you'll have plenty of time later." Elizabeth squirmed under the mild reproof. She ate a little more.

"I'm sorry."

"I know you're excited," Severus sighed. "Eat one more piece of toast and finish your eggs, and then we can go. I'm going to finish my coffee, because I'm sensing that I will need as much caffeine as possible today."

Elizabeth ate, and he finished his cup, wondering if he had time for one more. "Go brush your teeth," he directed, "and put your shoes on. We'll floo to Diagon Alley. Don't forget your letter, we need your book and supply list."

He watched her scamper off, and decided that another cup couldn't hurt. "And make your bed!" He called, feeling as if it were his parental duty to do so, but knew it was a ridiculous command. Elizabeth loved making her bed, it was likely that she'd made it before he'd made his own this morning, and not with magic. He shook his head at his coffee, and took another sip. It was going to be a long day.

*S*S*

"Clothing first," Severus said a little while later as they stepped onto the street. "You can't wear transfigured clothes forever, they will eventually lose their structure, and you will be clothed in threads instead of fabric."

They walked into Madam Malkins, where Severus opened the door and ushered her through. "Professor!" Madam Malkin called from the back of the shop. "Did you forget something the other day?" She was using her wand to fold fabric. "Your mother called today to make sure you had gone shopping this weekend, and I assured her that you'd been here."

"I'm sorry if she inconvenienced you, Madam, she'd a bit overly concerned with my clothing."

"It was no trouble, my dear, it's a weekday, so we're a bit slow. Everyone at work, you see." Her eyes fell on Elizabeth. "Who is this darling child?"

Severus put his arm around his daughter's shoulders. "This is Elizabeth. She's starting Hogwarts in the Fall. She needs uniforms and robes, plus all new casual clothing. She's suffered somewhat of a growth spurt over the summer." He decided it was best if few people knew how poorly Elizabeth had been cared for previously. "Shoes as well, and whatever else she needs, I suppose." He pulled out the list that Lily had dictated to him the night before. "I have this list, but if you see anything she might need, let me know."

*S*S*

"_Severus, I just spoke to Elizabeth, and did you know that she's never had proper undergarments?"_

_Severus raised his eyebrow at Lily's portrait. He'd sent Elizabeth up to tell her mother goodnight and to get in bed while he'd finished his lesson plans for the first week of school. He was on his way to tuck her in when Lily's voice from his bedroom had ordered him inside._

"_Lily, how would I know anything about what my 10-year-old daughter wears under her clothes?"_

"_You need to make sure she has everything for school," _

_Severus sighed. He checked the boys' belongings on the first night of school, but he'd always had his female prefect check the girls' things. He had no idea what was necessary for girls. "Lily, I don't know what that means."_

_Lily sighed. "Get a quill then, I'll give you a list."_

*S*S*

Madam Malkin took the list, and gestured for Elizabeth to stand on the low pillar before the mirror. "Let's get you measured, my dear." She set the tape measure to work and started pulling fabric. "I didn't know you had a daughter, Professor."

"I'm a man of mystery, Madam." He leaned against the wall, watching the proceedings.

"Well, she's lovely." Madam Malkin took the measuring tape. "Do you have the same plain tastes as your father?"

Elizabeth looked at Severus in confusion.

"She just needs black school robes. She can have whatever she wants in casual clothes."

He watched as she was fitted, clearly uncomfortable the whole time. _At least she won't be demanding shopping trips every weekend,_ he thought. Finally, they had several packages of clothing, which Severus shrunk and tucked into the pockets in his robes. He thanked Madam Malkin and ushered his daughter out onto the street. They walked in silence. Since Elizabeth hadn't stopped talking since she'd woken that morning, Severus was concerned. He stopped and looked down at her. "What is the matter?"

"Nothing," she said softly, looking down at her feet.

He crouched in front of her. "Elizabeth Rose, your mother could never successfully lie to me, and you seem to have inherited the same inability. So I'll ask again, and you should think carefully before you try to lie again. What is wrong?"

"I really didn't need all of those clothes."

"You absolutely did," Severus said firmly. "You have 5 days of school a week when you need to be in uniform, plus 2 other days and evenings when you need other clothes. Also pajamas, and whatever else your mother put on that list. And you can't wash your clothes every day, so you need multiples of things."

"But it seemed like a lot of money…"

"Nothing is a lot of money for something you need, Elizabeth. Now hush. I don't want to hear about you worrying about money any more, do you understand? That is solely my concern." Elizabeth nodded. "A verbal answer, please."

"Yes, sir."

"How about books next?" She nodded, and he raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, yes." She amended quickly.

"Alright then. Books, then we need to get some things for your Potions class, and then maybe lunch before we go get your wand."

"Wand?"

"Of course. How else are you going to cast spells?"

"I guess… I didn't think it was something you could buy. I read a book once where the witch's wand appeared on the day she got her powers."

Severus smirked. "Muggles rarely know anything about magic, although some of their attempts at literature on the subject are entertaining. We will go and buy your wand, and then we should be finished." He led her down the street to Flourish & Blotts. "But first, books. Do you have your list?"

"It's right here." Elizabeth brandished the piece of parchment.

"Alright then, in we go." He steered her into the store. "Let me see the list." She handed it to him. He looked at it for a moment. "Standard book of Spells, Grade 1 is right there," he pointed to a display. "The others are probably in that area as well, they tend to keep the textbooks together."

"But I'm in 6th grade at school."

Severus shook his head. "The first year at Hogwarts is for 11 year olds, so they call it Grade 1, or Year 1. You'll be a "first year". It's not a slight, just the fact that younger children don't go away from home until then." He pointed at the book again. "Get that one, it's your bible for the year. I'll read the list, and you put the books in our basket." He handed the basket to her.

"A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. That's for Transfiguration, obviously. I'd be on time for that one. Your grandmother is a stickler for punctuality."

"What classes can I be late to?" Elizabeth asked and she put the book in the basket.

Severus smirked. "None, you cheeky child. You'd better be on time or you'll answer to me." He looked at the list again. "A History of Magic, which is for exactly the class it sounds like. Magical Theory, that's for Charms. One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, for Herbology." He paused and waited until she had located the books.

"Magical Drafts and Potions, that's for your most important class," Elizabeth smirked at him while putting the Potions text in the basket.

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, that's for the Care of Magical Creatures, and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, which is for Defense Against the Dark Arts. You'd do well to pay particular attention in that class. Not," he said remembering his daughter's earlier joke, "that you should fail to pay attention in any class." He took the basket from her and verified its contents.

"Now you need quills and ink."

"Those aren't on the list."

"General supplies are understood. You need quills and ink and parchment. Have you ever written with a quill?"

"No, sir."

"Then we'll get a training quill too, we can work on it before school starts. It's a bit of an art. Now what else does the list say?"

"One cauldron, pewter, standard size 2, 1 set of glass or crystal vials, 1 telescope, and 1 set of brass scales."

"We'll wait and get your cauldron, vials, and scales at the Apothecary, they will have the best quality. You're bound to melt a cauldron or two your first year, but a good quality one will stand up better. We can get your telescope here, though."

"What class is that for?"

"Astronomy."

"But there's no textbook for Astronomy."

"Professor Sinistra relies mostly on practical application. You'll take lots of notes in that class. Any other information can be found in the Astronomy section of the school library." Snape added a telescope to the basket, and then approached the check out. "Anything else you can think of?"

"No." Elizabeth shook her head. "But I guess I'm not really sure what you need for Wizarding school."

Snape imagined that this was true. "Let's go get your Potions supplies, and then we'll stop for lunch."

The Apothecary included more things than Elizabeth could take in. Severus expertly selected a cauldron, scales, and phials, along with an assortment of basic potions ingredients. The man knew exactly what he needed in this regard; he didn't need to glance at the list. "In and out. That is the kind of shopping trip I can appreciate," he said when they were on the street again. "Let's have lunch."

"Wouldn't it be easier finish shopping and then go home, instead of home and then back?"

Severus looked at her quizzically for a moment. "Elizabeth, have you ever been to a restaurant?"

"No…" Elizabeth paused. "Sometimes Dudley and my Aunt and Uncle went out to eat… I guess I never really thought about it."

Severus gritted his teeth. "We're going to the Leaky Cauldron."

Elizabeth looked at her list again. "It says that I can't have a broomstick. Do witches really ride on broomsticks?"

"Wizards too. You'll have flying lessons your first year, then maybe we'll get you one next summer if you like it." He put his arm around her shoulders. "It doesn't matter, really, because you can't even try out for the Quiddich team until your second year."

Elizabeth nodded, remembering something about Quiddich when Severus had been explaining the Wizarding world back at Hogwarts. There had been so much information during those days, she couldn't remember it all.

"It also says that you can have a familiar. An animal," Severus answered her questioning look. "Maybe we'll come back later in the summer. It sounds like a good 11th birthday gift."

Elizabeth wasn't sure what to say to that. She'd never had a proper gift, let alone one that had been thought out. Elizabeth followed her father through the doors into the Leaky Cauldron. Severus found a table and they sat down, Elizabeth looking around at all the people with robes and wands. The waiter came to the table, took one look at Elizabeth, and with the grace that Severus had been fearing all day, blurted:

"Bless my soul, Elizabeth Evans. What an honor! Welcome back, Miss Evans, welcome back." Elizabeth shot a frightened look at her father, and Severus stood to usher the man away. Unfortunately, he was neither fast enough nor imposing enough to stop a flow of people. Severus, unaccustomed to having people ignore his fearsome glares, positioned himself partially blocking his daughter.

"Doris Crockford, Miss Evans, I can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

"So proud, Miss Evans."

"Always wanted to shake your hand."

"M-M-Miss Evans. C-can't tell you how pleased I am to meet you."

The stuttering voice broken through the craziness, and Severus took the opportunity to step completely in front of Elizabeth and greet his colleague. "Professor Quirrell, how nice to see you." He reached back and took Elizabeth's hand. "We really must be going now, lots of school things to buy. But we'll certainly see you when the term begins." He turned, clasped his daughter's shoulders, and ushered her out into the street.

"Severus?"

He looked down at his child. "I'll explain it, Elizabeth, I promise. But I'd like to wait until we get home. We'll get your wand, and then go home to eat. Are you too hungry, or can you wait a half hour?"

"I'm fine, I can wait," Elizabeth was visibly shaken by the sudden onslaught of people in the tavern. She wasn't going to push him to explain. She didn't really want to talk out on the street anyway, as it seemed that everyone in the place knew something she didn't.

*S*S*

Ollivander's was piled high with wand boxes. Severus felt his daughter pause, a little overwhelmed by the shop. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him as they walked in.

There was an old man standing in the shop. He turned his pale eyes on the dark haired girl. "Ah yes, I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Elizabeth Evans. You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

Elizabeth wasn't sure exactly what the man was talking about. She'd never really looked that closely at a wand. Something told her not to touch her father's, and he hadn't let her look at it.

"Your father, on the other hand," Ollivander looked at Snape. "Favors an ebony wand. An even foot. Sturdy. Dragon heartstring. Excellent for defense."

"And potions," Severus added.

"It's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course." Ollivander leaned over, close to Elizabeth's face. "And that's where…" He touched her forehead where the lightning scar ran. "I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it."

"Ollivander." Severus cut the man off and redirected his attention to wands. "Let's see which wand chooses Elizabeth." There was an underlying steel in his voice that dared the old man to ignore it.

Ollivander straightened. "Well, now— Miss Evans. Let me see." Elizabeth stood while he measured, and tried to suppress the questions her father obviously didn't want to answer right now.

"Try this one." Ollivander handed her a wand. "Just take it and give it a wave." Elizabeth did so, but was startled when Ollivander yanked the wand from her hand. "Try— No." He yanked the next wand quicker than the last. Wand after wand, combination after combination passed through her hands until…

"Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." Elizabeth raised the wand and waved it, causing red and gold sparks to shoot from the end. She looked at her father, alarmed, but he just smiled and clapped softly.

"Looks like that one chose you."

Ollivander was boxing the wand. "Curious… curious…"

Snape ignored the man's mumblings, but Elizabeth was ready to bite. "Sorry… but what's curious?"

Ollivander paused and looked down at her. "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Miss Evans. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather— just one other. It was very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother… gave you that scar."

"Thank you, Ollivander," Snape quickly took the package and handed it to Elizabeth. "Hold on to that, it will be your best friend from now on." He guided her out of the store and back onto the street.

*S*S*

The conversation Severus had been dreading was upon him. They'd had lunch, and Snape had taken his time making tea before finally joining his daughter on the sofa. He had retrieved Lily's portrait from his bedroom, deciding that if he couldn't have a second parent in the room for this, he could at least have his partner's voice.

"Elizabeth, you know there are bad people in the world, right?"

The dark head at his side nodded. She was well aware of bad people, having lived among them for so long.

"There are bad wizards too." Snape took a sip of tea. "The worst one was known as the Dark Lord. He struck so much fear into the hearts of our people that they have come to even fear his name. Voldemort." Snape saw Lily's portrait shudder a little out of the corner of his eye. "He was a terrible wizard with a lot of anger towards Muggles and many wizards. Your mother and I, along with several others fought against him when we were first married." He was careful in his mention of the Order… Elizabeth didn't need to know anything about that.

"The Dark Lord was getting stronger, and when you were born, we decided that you and your mother would go into hiding."

Lily snorted from her frame. "We decided?"

Severus glared at the portrait. "Your grandfather and I decided that you and your mother would go into hiding," he amended. "We were afraid that the Dark Lord would come to force me into his service, and I wanted to make sure you were protected from him." He paused, steeling himself for the part of the story that he'd been dreading. "You and your mother went to live with a man named James Potter. But one night, the Dark Lord discovered your hiding place…" he choked on the words and Elizabeth, distressed by her father's pain, carefully climbed into his lap and hugged him tightly.

He cleared his throat, the surprise at her initiation of affection startling him out of his memory. He shifted her on his knee so he could wrap both arms around her. "When the Aurors got there, they found your mother and James dead, and you, safe in your crib." He brushed the hair back from her face. "There are some curses that are forbidden, Rosie. The one the Dark Lord used to kill your mother was one."

"The green light?"

Severus met her eyes. "How do you know that?"

"I have a dream… someone screams and there is a bright green light."

Severus nodded. "The green light. He used it on you too… but somehow it failed. It reflected onto him and, from what we can tell, killed him as much as evil can be killed." He looked down into his daughter's eyes. "It left your scar." He paused, trying to decide how much pressure he wanted to put on her. "No one has ever survived that curse, Elizabeth. There were full-grown wizards who couldn't defeat him, and you managed it as a toddler. You are quite a hero of our world."

"That's why everyone knew me."

"Yes. You are the Girl Who Lived." He said it quietly.

"But… You died," Elizabeth turned to Lily's portrait. "Why didn't I die?"

"Oh, baby." Lily's eyes teared. "The point isn't that you didn't die, it's that you lived." She'd been quiet through Severus's explanation, but couldn't keep quiet now. "You lived and it doesn't matter what else happened that night. My main concern always was and will always be your safety. You were safe."

Severus wished passionately that he could hold his wife, but in lieu of that, held his daughter closer to him. "There are a lot of people in our world that will expect things from you because of what happened that night." Severus tilted Elizabeth's face up to look at him. "Let me be clear. Your main concern is your safety, your health, and your schoolwork. We want you healthy and happy. You do not need to hold the weight of this on your shoulders. I failed to protect you these last years, but it won't happen again." Snape paused, looking down at his daughter. He hadn't meant to go into that, but if Elizabeth was her mother's daughter, she had a bit of a daredevil streak. Hogwarts was not the place to embrace your inner risk-taker.

*S*S*

"Elizabeth!" Severus shouted up the stairs. When he didn't hear her footsteps, he walked halfway up the staircase and shouted again. "Elizabeth!"

When he still didn't hear her coming, he went the rest of the way upstairs and into her open bedroom. That's when he saw her hanging out the window, trying to grab the large tree. Severus took 2 strides across the room and snatched her back into the room, fighting the urge to smack her backside until he knew what happened.

"Elizabeth Rose Evans!" He held her up to look at him. "What were you doing?"

The girl bit her bottom lip and tried to avoid her father's eyes. "It was an accident."

"What was an accident? You were accidentally leaning out a second story window to grab an unstable tree?" He sat on her bed and set Elizabeth down in front of him. "Well?"

Elizabeth looked down at her toes until Severus lifted her chin. "The shoe was an accident." She sounded young. Severus tried to remind himself that she was young.

"What shoe?" Severus looked out the window where she was pointing to see her tennis shoe hanging from the tree. He waved his wand and summoned it back in. "How did it get out there?"

"I don't know. I was putting on the other one, and it just flew out." Elizabeth looked like she was going to cry.

"It's okay," Snape pulled her into his arms. "Remember, I said accidental magic is something that happens to everyone. It's okay."

"But it only happens when I'm upset. I wasn't upset, I promise!" Elizabeth was new to this "family" idea, but one thing she'd picked up was that Severus was upset when she was upset.

Severus wiped the tears from her cheeks and then held her away from him so he could look in her eyes. "The shoe was an accident, Elizabeth Rose, but the leaning out the window was not, and I'm certain that the climb you were plotting was not an accident either." He frowned at the dark haired child. "What is our first rule in this house?"

"I'm sorry!" Fresh tears started, and Severus fought to maintain his stern demeanour.

"I know you are. But that's not what I asked. What is the first rule?"

"Not to put myself in danger." Elizabeth tried to focus on the buttons on her father's jacket.

"That's correct. You should have called for me. Putting yourself in danger is never acceptable, young lady." Severus had really hoped that he wouldn't find cause to scold his daughter ever, but certainly not so soon. He paused and breathed in slowly. "Your safety is my main priority," he said, more gently. He pulled her back to him and held her until his heart slowed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you angry." Her little voice came from his chest, and Snape decided he'd had just about enough of the stern father thing for one day.

"The point is that you were unsafe, Elizabeth, not how I felt," he said softly. "Anyway, I wasn't angry. You scared me." He set her away from him so he could look at her. "I never want to catch you doing something so reckless again, young lady, understand?" Elizabeth nodded. She certainly didn't want to anger the wizard, not after Severus had been so nice to her.

Severus handed her the rogue shoe, and walked her into the hallway. "Wash your face and come downstairs." Then, on another thought, he stopped her. "You weren't upset, Elizabeth."

She looked at him quizzically.

"When the shoe flew out the window. I told you that accidental magic happens when you have strong emotions. You weren't upset. You were happy."


	5. Chapter 5

Severus was not sure what to do with Lily. It had been weeks, but he was still awkwardly carrying her around. The only decision he'd made was that she wouldn't go in Elizabeth's room, much to Lily's chagrin.

"I want to watch over my daughter, Sev!" she'd argued when he had ruled out the location.

"She deserves some privacy, Lily. She should be able to go in there and pretend to be studying, or mutter angry thoughts about whatever I've done to her lately, or hide her report card under her bed."

"You better watch her better than that!"

"I will, Lily. But the point is that she should be able to get a head start at whatever trouble she's working on."

Finally he bought another portrait, of an empty room, and hung it on the wall in the living room. He placed Lily's portrait beside his bed, and linked the two frames, they way they were linked in Hogwarts, so that Lily could move between the two rooms. It was strange, of course. The portrait held Lily's memories, Lily's soul, Lily's personality, but it wasn't… exactly Lily. It was a picture. Not as substitute for a person. But Severus was willing to let it ease his pain for a while.

*S*S*

Remus Lupin paced Dumbledore's office. "So Severus remembers everything now? He doesn't hate me anymore?" The two wizards had apparated to Hogwarts after the Order meeting. The Dark Lord was gone, but the Order never stopped coming together. Dumbledore had explained Severus' absence with the truth, organizing plans to keep the Girl-Who-Lived safe when she came to school.

"He's a bit distracted by being a father again, I would imagine, but I think you should go see him. And Elizabeth too."

"She's alright?"

"She's perfect. For now at least. I think there's enough of Lily in her to give Severus a run for his money later." Albus smiled. "Anyway, you should get over there. You have a goddaughter who needs to know you again so that when she comes home drunk and Severus is upset, she'll have someone to cry to."

"What makes you think I wouldn't be upset that she came home drunk?"

"Just an example." Albus waved him towards the floo. "Go."

Remus stepped into the floo and was gone.

*S*S*

When he arrived at the Spinner's End house, the living room was occupied by a black bat and a green eyed child. The black bat was sleeping in his armchair, and the child was reading something that looked suspiciously like a Potions text. "Elizabeth?" Not thinking, he scooped her up in his arms and hugged her to his chest, causing a little squeak from the girl.

Elizabeth breathed in and smelled something familiar. A mixture of pine and fresh air. Like the man spent most of his time outside. And the faint smell of puppy, like she'd just buried her face in a soft baby golden lab. He put her down, and she looked up at him in surprise. "Moony?"

Severus had woken at the squeak, and was watching the pair. "She remembers me, Sev!" Remus picked Elizabeth up again, spinning her around. Severus felt a tug at his heart. She remembered Remus. What kind of father had he been that his child remembered her godfather before him? What kind of father was he that she couldn't call him "dad"?

"Careful, Lupin, she just had lunch." He gave a small smile. "Elizabeth, why don't you go put your book away and ask Francy to make us some tea? Tell her what kind of biscuits you want."

"Be right back!" Remus watched the girl bounce out of the room before he turned to his friend.

"Hi."

Severus stood, and walked towards the other man, something in his eyes that Remus couldn't quite read. "I'm… I'm so sorry, Remus."

Lupin nodded. "Forget it. It wasn't your fault. It had to be that way, to protect Elizabeth."

"I shouldn't have… I was just so angry, and I hated James for what I thought he did…"

"Severus," Remus gripped the other man's shoulders. "It wasn't your fault. Let's just move on."

Severus nodded, and looked back towards the door Elizabeth had skipped out of. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

Remus nodded. "She's small. Wasn't Lily taller than that when she was 10?"

"She was, but her parents fed her properly. Poppy says with a good amount of food and sleep she should have a growth spurt soon."

"We should pay a visit to those Muggles, Sev."

Severus smiled ruefully. "Believe me, I've thought about it." He sighed. "But it wouldn't do her any good for me to end up in Azkaban, would it?"

Remus shook his head. "I suppose not."

"Severus? Francy says I'm not allowed to carry the tea unless I ask you." Elizabeth appeared in the doorway. "She says that I could burn my face off." Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Elizabeth, just let Francy carry the tea."

With a pop, the elf appeared, holding the tea tray. "Here you are, Master Severus. Miss Rosie wanted to carry it, but she's still just a baby—

"I am not!" Elizabeth protested, indignant.

"Elizabeth, hush. Francy, Elizabeth is almost 11. You can let her carry the tea. She'll be very careful."

The house elf made a sound that might have been a snort, and disappeared again.

Severus sighed. He specifically remembered the "I can do it myself!" phase from the toddler section of the book he'd poured over when she was a baby. He couldn't remember a "10 year old" section, he certainly knew better than to get in an argument with a child.

"Elizabeth, go wash your hands and you can have a biscuit." He watched her trot away obediently before looking at his friend again. "She gets prickly when people do things for her. She's never had someone take care of her…" he shook his head. "I don't know."

"It'll take time. It's better to have a child who is too self sufficient than a lazy one, I suppose." Remus sipped his tea, then looked at the wall. "Oh, hello Lily, I didn't see you there." He nodded in her direction.

"I was waiting for you to say hello, Remus." Lily smiled from the wall.

"Wait," Severus looked from his wife to his friend. "You look like you knew she… I mean, you… you knew she was doing this?"

Remus grinned and took another drink. "Now don't be like that, Sev, we knew you wouldn't understand."

"You're right." Severus glared at the other man. "Not that I'm not thankful that I still have a piece of her, but portrait creation in dangerous!"

"It certainly is not, Severus Snape. You're just angry I didn't tell you."

"Shouldn't I be?"

Remus seemed to be the only one who realized Elizabeth had been gone long enough to wash every hand in the city. He stood up, excusing himself. Exiting the room swiftly, he found what he had suspected, Elizabeth Holmes, eavesdropper of Scotland Yard. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she blushed. "They're fighting."

Remus sighed and put an arm around her. "It's okay. Your father doesn't like being kept in the dark, that's all. He wants all the information, especially when it comes to his family." He grinned. "You'd do well to remember that when you want to hide something from him."

"He worries a lot," Elizabeth said, as if she were confiding a secret. "He sleeps beside my bed in a chair most nights. He doesn't think I know, but sometimes I wake up at night."

"He'll never forgive himself, sweetheart." Remus kissed the top of her head. "So you remember me, eh?"

She smiled. "You used to play with me. Aunt Petunia says that there's no way I have memories from when I was a baby. I used to ask where you were, but she told me I'd made you up."

"Powerful witches and wizards are known to have early memories," Remus said, crouching in front of her. "In addition to that, you suffered a great amount of trauma as a baby. Sometimes that causes memory loss, but just as often it burns those memories in your brain. Like you were trying to store the happy memories for later." He picked her up and hugged her again. "Let's go back in, little spy. They aren't really fighting, it'll blow over."

*S*S*

Later that night, Elizabeth let Severus tuck her in, then stayed awake until she heard him go into his room. He usually started the night there, then came into her room later to check on her. When she heard his door close, she snuck out of bed and stood outside the other bedroom door, listening to Severus talk to Lily.

"She remembered him, Lil. She remembered her godfather, she still has the stuffed animal he gave her, but she didn't remember me. She didn't remember me, and she barely tolerates me taking care of her."

"Sev, that's not true."

"Yes it is. What kind of father am I that my child doesn't remember me?"

"She was a baby, Sev."

"She remembered Remus!" Elizabeth heard her father's voice falter, and it broke her ability to be a silent spy. She pushed the door open and went in to see Severus sitting on the bed, his face in his hands.

"Elizabeth? Are you alright?" Severus looked up.

"I remembered you." Elizabeth looked at Severus. "I knew who you were when you came to the Dursleys'. You used to let me play with your hair. Mum didn't like it, but you didn't mind. Remus says I have memories from when I was a baby because of that night…"

Severus tried to brush the tears from his eyes. He didn't want his daughter to see him that way. It had been years since he'd cried. Suddenly he found himself with a lap full of ten year old.

Elizabeth clung to his robes. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She let him put his arms around her. He rubbed her back, unable to say anything. "Please don't cry, Dad, I'm sorry…" She held on to him as he rocked her back and forth.

*S*S*

The day before her 11th birthday, Elizabeth woke up with a nasty bout of the flu. Severus took one look at her when she came downstairs and sent her straight back up again. Remus had come over for breakfast, and was immediately drafted into sick-child duty.

"Alright," Severus said, smoothing the blankets. "We have pillows, water, juice, various potions, tissues… anything else?"

"Lunus," Elizabeth was feeling slightly better after the fever-reducing potion Severus had poured down her throat, but her muscles still hurt and her nose was stuffy.

"What?" Remus looked at her in surprise.

"Lunus, her wolf. You bought it for her, remember?" Severus summoned the plush and handed it to Elizabeth. "I'm not sure how she still has it. The Dursleys got rid of everything else she arrived with."

Remus looked at Elizabeth. "I think I know." He gave the child a mischievous smile. "I think Elizabeth knows too." Elizabeth grinned back.

"What?" Severus suddenly felt out of the loop.

Remus grinned. "Severus, attack your daughter."

"Pardon me?"

"It's okay. Act like you're going to hurt me." Elizabeth smiled at Remus.

"Absolutely not." Severus looked at the other two like they were nuts.

"Okay, fine." Remus conjured a leather sleeve, like the one used by hawk trainers. In another movement, he swung his arm at Elizabeth's head.

_RRRAAAWWWWRRR!_

Severus jumped back as Lunus became a very real small wolf, and lunged at Remus, sinking his teeth into Remus's protective gear. Elizabeth laughed and called for the animal to return. Curling up on her stomach, the wolf gave Remus a warning look and turned back into a plush.

"What was that?" Severus looked at Remus.

"I charmed him when she was a baby. If anyone or anything tries to hurt her, it does... well, that." He gestured to the teeth marks on his arm.

"It's why the Dursleys never really hurt me," Elizabeth said, hugging the toy. "Uncle Vernon tried to slap me once, and Lunus ripped his arm to shreds. Aunt Petunia tried to get rid of him, but he scratched her so many times, she gave up."

Severus looked at Remus, thanks in his eyes, and Remus nodded. "It was meant for bullies on the playground or bad dreams… I can't say I'm glad you had to use it for anything else, Elizabeth." He patted the wolf on the head. "The charm recognizes intent. When I went to hit her before, I had to really intend to hurt her. So," he looked at his goddaughter with mock sternness, "He will not defend you from being punished if your father catches you out after curfew."

"She won't be out after curfew." Severus ruffled his daughter's hair. "She's not actually related to James Potter."

"Lily did a fair amount of curfew-dodging, Sev, and so did you if I remember." Remus reminded his friend.

"The Slytherin Head of House then was as lax as Minerva is now. You could just stroll out of the common room completely undetected." He looked pointedly at Elizabeth. "And you can be sure that whatever House you are sorted into will be getting some extra protection." He stood, "But now, you need to rest."

"Dad, I just got up."

"And you're going back down," Severus said firmly. "We're going downstairs for a while, but I'm coming up in 20 minutes to check on you. If you aren't asleep, I'm giving you a sleeping draught, understand?"

"Yes, sir."

Severus could tell by the lack of fight that he would find a sleeping girl when he came back upstairs. He hadn't seen her that docile since she'd been in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. Apparently, his child was only quiet when sick.

Downstairs, Severus looked at Remus. "You were going to let me get attacked by that thing? Where was my protective sleeve?"

Remus grinned. "I knew you'd never do it. I knew you as a father the first time around, Sev. No amount of years as a Death Eater would make you hurt that girl."

"No," Severus sat down in his chair and poured another cup of coffee. "But this 'parent' thing is harder now than when she was a baby. And when Lily was here to do it with me." He sipped the hot liquid. "She's only 10, and she's already asking questions I either can't or don't want to answer."

"Almost 11," Remus reminded him. "Her flu puts a crimp in our Diagon Alley plans for the day."

"I'm thinking about going myself. Would you stay here with her?"

"Of course. What are you going to get her?"

"An owl, I think. Cats aren't useful, and she's not a toad girl if I had to guess."

Remus smiled. "I'll stay here. You go up and check on her after you finish your coffee, then I can hold down the fort for awhile."

*S*S*

After looking in on a sleeping Elizabeth, Severus apparated within a few yards of Eeylop's Owl Emporium. Ten minutes later, having been almost attacked by a fluffy white owl, he had her in a cage and was apparating home. Remus looked up in surprise when he reappeared.

"Honestly, Sev, you can trust me. No need to make it a whirlwind trip!"

Severus smirked, "The bloody thing about took my ear off when I walked in. She wouldn't leave me alone. It seemed like the easiest course of action to buy her."

"She's beautiful. Are you going to show her to Elizabeth?"

Severus nodded. "When she wakes up. If she's not awake in a few hours, I'll wake her for lunch." He opened the cage door, and cleared his throat before awkwardly addressing the owl. "Bird. Your girl is upstairs. I will introduce you in a little while. Now—

He was interrupted by a flash of white feathers flying by his head. He looked over at Remus as the bird flew up the stairs before bolting after the owl, the other man on his heels. When they reached Elizabeth's bedroom, they found her still asleep, and the white owl sitting on the headboard, looking at the two wizards with a look of superiority.

"Well, I guess she decided to introduce herself," Remus chuckled.

Severus sighed. "Alright, you feathered nuisance. Don't use my furniture as a perch." He conjured an actual perch and set it beside the bed. The snowy owl chortled and flew over to settle on the post. "You watch her, ball of feathers." The owl huffed, ruffling her plumage as if to say "Who are you calling a ball of feathers?"

*S*S*

A few hours later, Severus heard laughing from her bedroom. Remus had gone home, promising to return the next day for Elizabeth's mini birthday party. Severus went upstairs to find his daughter, significantly more bright-eyed than when he'd seen her that morning, giggling while the snowy bird nuzzled her face. "Happy birthday, Rosie."

Elizabeth looked at him, wide eyed. "Thank you," she breathed, stroking the bird's feathers.

"I'm assuming from the look in your eyes that you like her?'

"What look?"

"Your mother got that look too. Usually in association with a furry creature, but she wasn't adverse to feathers." He sat on the edge of the bed. "How do you feel?"

"Better," she smiled shyly. "I must not have been sick after all."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think that, Doctor Evans?"

"Because I'm better now. You don't stop being sick so fast." She attempted to raise an eyebrow at her father, but her facial muscles failed her.

"That's with Muggle medicine. We don't necessarily have cures for diseases that they don't, but we can make the duration significantly shorter." He put his hand on her forehead. "I think with lunch and another nap, you should be good as new."

"I don't need to sleep anymore, Dad, I'm bored."

The owl at her side released a short screech.

"Your owl thinks your should obey your father," Severus smirked. "Do you want to come down for lunch or would you rather eat here?"

Elizabeth looked from Severus to the owl, feeling a bit out numbered. "Can I take a shower and then come down?"

"May I take a shower," Severus corrected absently. "Do you feel dizzy?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "No, Doctor Snape."

"For a girl who wants something, you're awfully cheeky." Severus smirked. "Go take a shower. I'll be right here if you need me."

*S*S*

An hour later, Elizabeth was showered and fed. "Back to bed with you," Severus ordered, waving away the breakfast dishes with his wand.

"Can't I stay down here? I promise I'll be quiet."

"It's not a matter of your noise level," Severus said gently. "Your body needs sleep to completely recover. You don't want to be sick on your birthday."

"Please, Dad?" She opened her eyes wide.

Severus sighed. He wouldn't at all be surprised if she was sorted into Slytherin in a month. She'd already discovered the power of the "d" word. Combined with Lily's eyes, he had no veto power. "Come here, Elizabeth," he pushed his chair back from the table, and when she'd come around the table, he pulled her onto his lap. "You, my child, are manipulating me. Don't think I don't know it." He smirked down at her. "But I suppose if you promise to lie quietly, you can do that on the sofa in my study while I do some work."

In the study, Severus slightly deepened the couch, making it more bed-like before arranging pillows and blankets. After settling his daughter, he sat at his desk to work. Occasionally he glanced over at her. "Elizabeth, it's really better if you sleep for awhile," he said after an hour, "I don't want to give you a sleeping draught, but if I don't hear snoring soon—

"I don't snore!"

Severus smirked. "Prove it."

"I'm bored."

He summoned her History of Magic text from her room. "Read that. It seems to have sleep-inducing effects."

"You said I didn't have to start reading until after my birthday."

"And you said you were bored. I'm simply remedying that situation." He managed a stern look despite how pathetic she looked on the sofa. "Read, and if you manage to take a nap, I'll let you stay up after dinner instead of going to bed like I'd planned."

Elizabeth sighed, and opened the book to chapter 1: "Wizarding Power in Early Europe".

_The first witch to be born to a Muggle royal family was Hedwig of Saxony (c. 910- May 10, 965). Daughter of Henry I the Fowler, and his wife Matilda of Ringelheim. She was the sister of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, a Muggle; Henry I, Duke of Bavaria, also a Muggle; Gerberga of Saxony (M); and Bruno I, Archbishop of Cologne (M). After Otto came to power, she was married to Hugh the Great (M) in 936. Her son, Hugh Capet (W), became King of France in 987._

"Dad?"

Severus looked over his reading glasses. "Yes?"

"Does my owl have a name?"

"She's your owl. You can name her whatever you wish."

"Hedwig." Elizabeth said, putting the book down and closing her eyes. "The first royal Muggle-born witch."

Severus started to reply, then saw that she was no longer awake. Smiling, he walked around the desk and carefully removed her glasses, bringing them back to rest them on his desktop.

*S*S*

"_Severus, that child needs a party!"_

"_And she will have one, Mother, at home, with people she knows."_

"_But your father and I are not an entire guest list, Sev." Minerva was pacing her office. _

"_Well, you aren't the partiers that, say, Binns is, that's true." Severus rolled his eyes. "But we'll have to risk it."_

"_Don't roll your eyes at me, young man."_

_Severus sighed. "Mother, she's still anxious around people. She's comfortable with Remus and with you, so that's who she should have around her."_

"_What about your father?"_

_Severus almost winced. "She's terrified of him."_

"_Of Albus?" Minerva looked shocked that anyone would be afraid of her colorful-robe-wearing, sweet-popping, calm-voiced husband._

"_He scares her. He was fine when she was in the hospital wing, but since then he's trying too hard to amuse her. If there was any doubt as to my paternity, just watch her when he tries to do his "fireworks inside" trick." Severus shook his head. "Last week, he thought that it might be fun to levitate her around the living room. She didn't stop shaking for an hour."_

"_He just wants her to like him."_

"_She'll like him if he stops terrifying her. It's done, Mother. You, Albus, Remus, Elizabeth, and myself, in her living room."_

*S*S*

Elizabeth was not, for any reason, coming out of her room. Severus had tried for twenty minutes to coax her out and downstairs to the party. He'd cajoled, threatened, and all but begged. Remus had tried, Minerva had tried, but the door remained locked. Finally Severus sent everyone downstairs and used his wand to unlock the door. Inside the room, he stood, silently watching his daughter.

Elizabeth squirmed a little on the bed. She didn't want to upset him, but the thought of being doted on by Minerva and harassed by Albus made her feel queasy. She still hadn't managed to call them grand-anything. She snuck a look at her father, standing passively inside the door.

She felt like she was going to sick up. "Please don't make me…" she looked pleadingly at him.

Severus sighed, and crossed the room and sat beside her on the bed. "Rosie," he pulled her onto his lap. "I'm not going to force you to do something like this. Eat vegetables, maybe. Wear a helmet around your grandfather, certainly." He stroked her hair. "I know it's a lot of people. I know Albus is frightening, but your grandmother talked to him, and he's going to try to mellow."

"I've never had a party," she said quietly.

"I know." Severus looked down at her, smirking. "That's why I called off the party your grandmother wanted. Complete with every Hogwarts professor in the Great Hall."

Elizabeth paled.

"However, if that's what you'd prefer—

"NO!"

"I thought not." Severus sobered. "Elizabeth, I'm not going to carry you down there. If you say no, I'll send everyone home right now. But just know that it would mean a lot to your grandmother to be able to be at her granddaughter's birthday. And I want you to remember that I was deprived of nearly a decade of my daughter's birthdays, and I'd like to make this one special."

Elizabeth buried her face in his robes. "You're manipulating me," she mumbled, "don't think I don't know it."

Severus grinned over her head. "Quoting me, are you?"

"You won't leave me, right? You won't let Professor Dumbledore turn me into a pumpkin?"

"No squash of any kind, I promise." He held her tight until she extracted herself.

"Okay."

"Okay." Severus set her on the ground. "Let's go."


	6. Chapter 6

Elizabeth Evans was bouncing around to the point that Severus wondered if she might take off. He needed to go to Hogwarts early and brew for the hospital wing, as well as set up this classroom for the coming year. Upon hearing that news, Elizabeth's excitement about going to school bubbled over. "Can I come?"

Severus had resisted sarcasm, but couldn't resist rolling his eyes. "I can't imagine where else you think you're going. There's no way I'm leaving my 11-year-old daughter home alone." He looked at her over his newspaper. "Let's get you packed for school. We can take the trunk so you don't have to take it on the train." He flinched at Elizabeth's shriek. He cursed himself for not anticipating it. Elizabeth had been bent on packing since her birthday two weeks before. Albus and Minerva had given her a trunk, and she was burning to fill it. Severus had to continuously remind her that she would need clothes to wear over the next several days, and so packing all her belongings was a bit premature.

He watched his daughter run up the stairs and reminded himself that it was good that she was excited. He'd been preparing himself for fear surrounding school, since she seemed wary of most new situations, but he'd been surprised.

Elizabeth was ready to go in 10 minutes, but her desire to leave quickly was crushed by Severus's insistence at opening the trunk and scowling at the haphazard contents.

"Fold, Elizabeth. How are you supposed to know what is in here?" She rolled her eyes, in a pretty good imitation of her father, Severus thought.

"It's all going to shift around, anyway," she crossed her arms over her chest and frowned.

Severus did the same, then leaned over to look her in the eye. "I'll tell you right now, young lady, we aren't going anywhere until that trunk is acceptable. And if your attitude doesn't change, you'll spend our trip in your room."

"Yes, sir." Elizabeth dropped her arms, defeated for the moment. "I'm just excited."

"I know." Severus straightened and put his hand on her head. He gestured to the trunk. "Pack it again, while I get ready. Did you leave some clothes in your room?"

Elizabeth looked confused. "Why?"

"Elizabeth… you _live_ here," Severus said, settling his hands on her shoulders. "You don't have to completely move out every year."

By the time Severus returned, she was packing the last set of robes. Severus looked into the trunk, nodded in satisfaction, and helped her close the top. He shrank it and tucked it into his robes. "Are you hungry?"

Elizabeth shook her head, but her grumbling stomach gave her away. Severus rolled his eyes and summoned two sandwiches and glasses of pumpkin juice. "Eat," the sternness in his voice belied by the mirth in his eyes.

*S*S*

_Finally_ they were through the floo. Elizabeth had begged to go through on her own, and Severus had relented, letting her go first so he could monitor what she said. He felt a little bit of pride as his daughter threw floo powder into the fireplace and stepped in, no trace of fear in her eyes. "Hogwarts Snape's Quarters" she said clearly, and disappeared from view. Severus smiled. She was born to be a witch. Not that he would have loved her less if she'd been a squib, but it certainly made him happy to share this world with her.

Severus followed quickly, arriving at his dungeon quarters shortly after Elizabeth. She was standing in the middle of the living room, looking around her.

"Well?" Severus asked, a little nervously. "It's not much, but it works during the school year."

Elizabeth looked around again and then grinned at her father. "It looks like you."

Severus decided to take that as a compliment. He pulled the tiny trunk out of his robes. "Let's put this in your room, and then you can explore a little while I get some brewing started."

"My room?"

"Did I not just an hour ago threaten you with being grounded to your room?" Severus raised his eyebrows. "Did you think it was an empty threat?"

"I thought you meant at Spinner's End."

"Sure, that would be a punishment, all alone in the house to do Merlin knows what." Severus raised his eyes skyward. He carried the mini-trunk into the room to the left of his. Elizabeth followed, and was startled to find herself back in her room at Spinner's End. She looked wildly at Severus.

"What?" She looked out the door and saw Snape's quarters, but her bedroom was an exact carbon copy of her room at home.

Severus set the trunk on the floor and returned it to its normal size. "I thought, since a lot has changed for you recently, and now you're going off to school, that you might want a place that is familiar… just in case you need it." _What is happening to you, Snape? The most hospitable you've ever been was letting a couple Slytherins crash on your sofa over the last several years. What is it about this child that changes your whole personality?_

He almost had the breath knocked out of him when Elizabeth threw herself into his arms. He recovered from his surprise and closed his arms around her back. Cautiously, he cleared his throat. "Well then." He waited until she released him to keep talking. "I've got to get some things started, some of these potions take a week to brew." He looked down at her. "You can go look around. A little." He stressed the last part when her face threatened to recreate the bouncing incident from earlier that day. "Say inside the castle, out of the third floor corridor, and out of anyone's office except mine." He levelled his stare into the green eyes. "Don't touch anything that looks dangerous, don't mess with anything you don't recognize, and don't talk to anyone you don't know."

"Yes, sir." Elizabeth bounced a little. "Can I go?"

"Yes." Severus waved his hand at the door and bit back the urge to remind her to be careful again.

*S*S*

Severus had worked in his lab for 3 hours when he decided to go check on his daughter. He half expected her to be in the living room, and when she wasn't, he went out into the castle to find her.

He didn't have to go far, as he neared the transfiguration classroom, he heard her voice.

"He told me so many things I couldn't do, that I thought it was probably best just to sit still somewhere." Severus smiled a little, she was clearly talking about him. In fact, he had no problem with her plan. He wondered if he could get her to sit still for the next 10 years or so.

"Your father is a complicated man." Severus rolled his eyes. Of course she'd found Minerva. "Plus, you're his only child, so he doesn't want to lose you."

Severus decided that they'd had enough chatting. He swept into the room. "Sure, because if I had a back up child, I wouldn't worry so much." He scowled at Minerva and put his arm around Elizabeth. Minerva just laughed at him, and he cursed the fates that let the first person Elizabeth found to be one that was not at all frightened of him.

"What did I say about going into classrooms?" He turned his scowl on the green-eyed child.

"Nothing," Elizabeth opened her eyes wide and frowned a little.

"Well, I meant to."

"I'm sorry," Elizabeth looked at Minerva and grinned, knowing she wasn't in trouble.

"Yes, you certainly look sorry." Severus looked back at Minerva. "Has she been any bother?"

"Of course not, Severus." Minerva cast a knowing look at the child.

"Alright, that's enough bonding for one day." Severus steered Elizabeth towards the door.

"Severus," Minerva was giving him one of her _looks_ and he sighed.

"Go back to our chambers. I'll be there shortly." Elizabeth bounced out of the room, and Severus turned back to Minerva. "What?"

"No need to be snippy, Severus. I just wanted to make sure that everything is alright. I know the transition must be difficult—

"Did she say something?"

Minerva's mouth formed a smirk that rivalled Severus'. "She seems very happy, Severus. She's amazingly resilient after what she's been through. I don't know what you've done over the past few weeks, but she seems to be a happy, healthy child. Even better than at her birthday."

Severus let out his breath and nodded. "Good. Can I follow my happy, healthy child, please?" He swept back out of the room and down the hall towards the entrance to the dungeons. _Happy and healthy… not that he needed Minerva's affirmation. But… happy and healthy… this just might work after all._

*S*S*

Severus woke the next morning to find Elizabeth gone from her bed. His heart stopped, he threw a robe over his nightclothes. Out in the hall, he all but ran to Minerva's quarters, hoping the girl had gone there, but was met with nothing. He checked the hospital wing, and the hallways before realizing what he was missing and sprinted up the stairs to the Owlery.

There she was, with a broom, looking out of the tower, about to step over the edge. "Elizabeth Rose Evans!" He gave a startled cry, rushed over to her, pulled her away from the ledge. He snatched the broom from her hand and threw it across the room and shook her soundly.

"What do you think you were doing? I wake up and you're GONE! And when I finally find you, you're ready to—" Severus paused and gritted his teeth. He pulled her out of the room and down the stairs towards their quarters.

"Dad—

"Silence." Severus opened the door and pointed. "Sit."

Elizabeth obeyed, sitting on the sofa and letting the tears in her eyes spill over. She'd known that her father didn't want her to fly, which is why she hadn't asked him for permission when she met Madame Hooch that morning.

"Don't move." Severus ordered and went back out into the castle, remembering to transfigure his pyjamas into robes.

*S*S*

Severus stalked out to the Quidditch pitch, knowing that there was only one person who would be so stupid as to give an unsupervised 11 year old a broom.

"ROLANDA!" He shouted at the navy-robed witch flying around the pitch.

"What?" She settled down beside him, gracefully landing.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"

"Severus, you'll have to be more specific."

"Why did you give my daughter a broom?" His voice had gone from loud to frighteningly soft.

"She was wandering around the castle this morning, and so I offered her something to do."

"SHE DOESN"T KNOW HOW TO FLY!"

Madam Hooch looked shocked. "You haven't taught her? Is she okay?"

"I got to her before she FLEW OUT OF THE OWLERY!" Severus scowled. "What were you thinking?"

"Usually the kids from wizarding families know how to fly, Severus. How was I supposed to know she didn't know how?"

"Did you ask her?" Internally, Severus prayed that she hadn't. He didn't need to add lying to Elizabeth's list of transgressions.

"No."

Severus growled in this throat and turned on his heel, storming away.

*S*S*

He walked the halls for 20 minutes to calm himself, but the image of Elizabeth, poised at the edge of a tower, haunted him. He made his way back to their quarters, to find a tear-stained child still sitting on the sofa.

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"Is that all you have to say for yourself?" Severus' fought to keep his voice steady, his inner emotions flipping between terror and fury.

"I… don't know."

Severus took a deep breath. "Let's start here, then. Why did you leave these rooms without telling me where you were going?"

"You were asleep, I didn't want to—

"YOU should have been asleep!" Severus snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I couldn't sleep."

Severus sat in the armchair beside the sofa. "Look at me, Elizabeth Rose." She pulled her eyes up to meet his. "You knew that I would have said 'no' if you'd asked to go flying, am I correct?" Elizabeth nodded. "A verbal answer, please."

"Yes, sir."

"So." Severus flexed his hands. "You went off without telling me, spoke to someone you didn't know, and were contemplating a very dangerous stunt with something that person gave you. Did it not occur to you that perhaps you shouldn't trust someone you don't know?" He plowed on, not waiting for an answer. "You knew that I wouldn't let you fly. We had this discussion just last week. You will have classes this year. Until you are properly taught, you weren't to go near a broom. Isn't that what you were told?" Severus paused, waiting for an answer.

"Yes, sir."

"Then what were you thinking?"

Elizabeth bit her lip. "I just thinking…" She dropped her eyes to the floor. "Maybe I could learn on my own. I thought… I didn't want to look stupid when the other kids are here."

Severus sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "Flying is dangerous, Elizabeth. I didn't make the rule to make your life harder. I made it to protect you." He frowned. "What is my main rule, Elizabeth Rose?"

"Not putting myself in danger," she whispered.

Severus nodded. "Come here, Elizabeth." She crossed the small space between the sofa and his chair as if she was under a death sentence. When she reached him, he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. "You deliberately disobeyed a rule set to protect you," Severus scolded the top of her head. "You scared me, Elizabeth, do you understand that?" His voice held more relief than anger now.

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, Dad, I really am."

"I hope so. And I hope you remember that you're sorry the next time you're tempted to do something so reckless." He closed his eyes briefly, then pushed her away from him gently. "I can't lose you. There are too many things out there that can hurt you. I won't let your propensity for running into danger put you more at risk." He gritted his teeth. "You are grounded for three days. No exploring, and you'll be assisting me with a variety of disgusting tasks in the lab."

"Yes, sir," Elizabeth's eyes were filling with tears, and starting to drip down her face.

"Perhaps that will remind you to be more careful," Severus said sternly, resolutely ignoring the tears until they starting coming out in sobs. He frowned. He'd been scolding and punishing students for years. None had ever reacted like this.

"Elizabeth," Severus drew her onto his lap, cuddling her against his chest. "Easy. A few days of restriction isn't going to kill you."

"'snot that," Elizabeth cried into his robes. "I didn't want to scare you. I'm sorry."

Severus sighed. "You did scare me, my girl. You have no idea how much." He pulled her closer. "But I think I made it clear that you aren't to do it again." She nodded into his chest.

"It's alright, Rosie." He rubbed her back, and her sobs had faded to sniffles. She was curled sleepily against his chest. Severus looked down at her heavy eyelids. He glanced at the clock, and then stood with her in his arms. "Why don't you go back to bed for a while," he said. "I'll wake you in an hour and we'll have breakfast." She nodded sleepily, her eyes closed and her breathing regular before he pulled up the blankets. He left the room, wishing he were a drinking man. He could use a stiff drink.

*S*S*

"But dad, I'm bored."

"That's the point of being grounded," Severus finished his morning tea.

"Dad… I said I was sorry." Elizabeth was bordering on whining. She'd had two days cooped up in their rooms and was thinking that "cabin fever" was more appropriately "dungeon fever".

"And I'm sure you are. However, you're still grounded for disappearing without telling me where you were going and giving me a heart attack." Severus refilled his cup. "Finish your breakfast."

"What are you doing?"

Severus looked at his daughter. "I'm eating."

"No, I mean what are you doing today?"

"I'm brewing, using the fish entrails that you harvested yesterday. I should be finished today if I get a good amount of time in."

"Can I help?"

Severus turned the page of his newspaper. "With the actual brewing? After your first year of potions, absolutely."

"But I could be really good at it. You don't know." Elizabeth pushed her breakfast around the plate.

"I have no doubt that you will be very good at 'it'," The potion master took another sip of tea. "But while much of potions is talent, a good deal of it is learned skill."

"You can teach me."

"I will teach you," Severus smirked. "I have double potions for both 1st year groups on Fridays."

"Dad," Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Elizabeth," Severus matched her whiny tone and folded his paper. "One more day. You'll live. You should do some studying so you're ready for your first classes. I'd recommend reading the first few chapters in your Potions text."

Elizabeth sighed and stood up. "Fine." She sighed.

"I'm sure you meant, 'Yes, sir'," Severus said, standing and putting an arm around her shoulders, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

*S*S*

"Let's go, Elizabeth." Severus had been sitting on the sofa in the living room for 20 minutes beyond their appointed departure time.

"Elizabeth, all you need is a uniform and a robe to change on the train."

"I'm not wearing the right clothes!"

Severus sighed. For a girl who'd never had a choice in clothing, Elizabeth had quickly discovered the female trait of changing clothes constantly. "You looked fine."

"Are you sure I'm not supposed to wear the uniform?" Elizabeth's voice was muffled from the next room.

"You have to dress like a Muggle at the station." Severus resisted the urge to go in and yank her out of the room. "If you aren't out here in 2 minutes, we aren't going." He was bluffing, he'd never keep her back. But if they didn't get going, they would miss the train all together.

"I'm coming!" Elizabeth emerged from her bedroom carrying her uniform and a robe. Severus conjured a black bag and opened it.

"Put those it here. Neatly," he amended when she started to stuff the clothing inside. "Where is your wand?"

"In my room."

Severus looked up at the ceiling. _You are the worst wizarding parent ever. You've taught her nothing._

"Retrieve it, please."

Elizabeth sprinted to her room, scooping the wand off her bed. When she returned, Severus was sitting in the kitchen. "What did I do?"

Severus smiled. "Nothing. I just realized that I bought you a wand and then didn't give you any kind of instructions." He gestured to the seat across from him. "Give me your wand."

Elizabeth handed it to him, only to have him hand it back. "The first rule is that you NEVER do that. You never give another wizard, or Muggle for that matter, your wand. No matter who it is." Elizabeth nodded. "You never take another wizard's wand either. You had that problem when you were a toddler, but I assume you grew out of it." He smirked. "You always carry your wand, no matter where you are or where you are going."

"Can we go?"

Severus smirked. "I wanted to go half an hour ago, brat, but I suppose if you're ready now…"

"I'm ready!" Severus laughed softly and put the arm that wasn't holding her bag around her shoulders. He let her go first through the floo, with stern instructions that she wasn't to take more than 2 steps until he followed her.

Reunited on the other side, he pulled her ticket from his pocket. "Hold on to that, you'll need it when we get to the platform."

Elizabeth scanned the ticket as they walked. "Platform 9¾?"

"Mmhmm." Severus was busy scanning the crowd for potential Girl-Who-Lived groupies.

"There's no such thing as Platform 9¾."

Severus, satisfied that they were safe for the moment, turned to his daughter. "Have you ever been to King's Cross?'

"No," Elizabeth conceded.

"Then how would you know?" Severus ran his eyes along the platform numbers. "Here we are."

Elizabeth looked up and saw numbers 9 and 10. No 9¾. But her father seemed to know what he was doing, regardless of the impossibility of his plan.

"Packed with Muggles, of course." Elizabeth turned to see a woman surrounded by redheaded children.

"Dad. Are they…?"

Severus glanced at the family. "That's Molly Weasley and her children. The Weasleys have a hundred children, one is bound to be your age."

"Severus!" Molly ushered her brood over to the wizard. "Is this Elizabeth?"

"Yes, Molly." Severus put his arm back around his daughter protectively.

"Don't be silly, Severus, we won't eat her." Molly leaned over a bit. "Hello, Elizabeth. Ron's new to Hogwarts too." She straightened and pointed at the smallest red haired boy. "Severus, could you go through to the platform? I hate sending them through without someone on the other side, and Arthur had to work today."

Severus balked at being told what to do by the witch, but upon consideration the idea of having an adult on both sides of the barrier made him feel a little more stable. He turned to his daughter. "I'm going to go through, and you follow me. Molly will help you if you need it. Walk straight at the barrier." He squeezed her shoulders and turned towards the barrier. Elizabeth watched curiously as he walked toward the brick and started a little when he abruptly disappeared. She looked at Mrs. Weasley in alarm.

"Alright, dear. Your turn. Better to do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous." Elizabeth took a deep breath and walked towards the barrier. She had to push through people, breaking into a bit of a jog as she got closer. She closed her eyes and braced for the impact of her body on the brick.

Instead of brick, she found herself crashing into Severus's chest. "Easy, Rosie." He looked down at her. "Are you alright?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Where are we?"

Severus smiled, and stepped back from her. "Platform 9¾." Elizabeth looked past him to see a purplish train. Severus pulled her to his side. "Stand here until the Weasleys are through." It didn't take long, all four Weasley boys came through, followed by Mrs. Weasley and their sister.

"Thank you, Severus." Molly tried to corral her children. "Fred, George, help your brothers put their trunks on the train. Severus, where's Elizabeth's trunk?"

"Already at Howarts, Molly," Severus rolled his eyes.

The Weasleys piled on the train, but Snape held Elizabeth back. He handed her a purse of coins. "In case you get hungry on the train. Don't fill up on sweets, there will be dinner when you get there." She took it and smiled. "Find a seat, and stay there. Behave yourself. Stay with the group when it's time to get off, and don't forget to change into your uniform before you get there."

It was Elizabeth's turn to roll her eyes. "I will, I will, I will, I won't." She smirked up at him.

"Good." Severus squeezed her shoulder. "Do you want me to come on with you?"

"DAD."

"Okay, Okay." He pulled her into a hug. "I love you so much." He was still startled to hear how natural the words sounded on his tongue.

"I love you too, Dad."

He watched Elizabeth board the train, looking over her shoulder to grin at him, and felt something pulling at his heart. _You're going soft, Snape. _He turned and snarled at some loud first years, trying to get his school-time-groove back.

*S*S*

The moment Elizabeth stepped onto the train, she wished that she'd let her father come on with her. She had no idea where to go, so she walked down the center aisle until she found Ron, sitting in a compartment by himself.

She slid open the door. "Can I…?" She gestured to the open seat.

"Sure." Ron was holding the mangiest rat Elizabeth had ever seen on his lap. She sat down.

"What's his name?" She pointed at the rat.

"Scabbers," Ron said, poking the rat with his wand. "He's kind of lame, really, but he'd been in my family for a really long time. We've got Errol, but he's kind of the family owl. I think I got Scabbers because no one else wanted him." Ron paused. "So… are you really… I mean do you have…?"

It took Elizabeth a minute to realize what he was talking about. "Oh. Yeah," she pulled her hair back from her forehead to reveal the scar.

"Wicked."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. At least he wasn't looking at her with reverence.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?"

"I've got mine." Ron held up squished sandwiches. Elizabeth pulled out the money Severus had given her.

"Umm…" she didn't recognize any of the candy. "Hey, Ron."

"Yeah?" He was unwrapping his sandwiches.

"You want to tell me what's good? I'll split it with you."

Ron was all too eager to lend his expertise, and they were soon sitting surrounded by candy. "So what's it like, living with Professor Snape? Fred and George say he's horrid in class."

Elizabeth shrugged. "Well, after living with my aunt and uncle for so long, just about anything is better. But I don't know why anyone would be afraid of Dad."

"I dunno, I just know that all my brothers were terrified of him. Maybe it's because he's head of Slytherin House."

"What's wrong with that?'

"Hasn't been a witch or a wizard that went bad that wasn't in Slytherin. They're known for being crafty and… well, most of the kids are just kind of mean." Before Ron could say anything else, they were interrupted by a girl with long curly hair.

"I'm sorry, but has either of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one."

Both children shook their heads. The curly haired girl went on. "I'm Hermione by the way, Hermione Granger." The girl swept away as quickly as she'd come, leaving Elizabeth and Ron to finish eating their candy.

Ron was showing Elizabeth the chocolate frog cards when a pale, blond-haired boy arrived at their door.

"Is it true?" He was sizing Elizabeth up. "They're saying all down the train that Elizabeth Evans is in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

Elizabeth nodded. She looked at the boys behind him, they looked tough and not that bright.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle. My name is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." Elizabeth's eyes registered recognition. She'd heard Severus mention the name to Remus.

"No need to ask who you are," Draco sneered at Ron. "My father says that all Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." He looked at Elizabeth. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Evans. Your blood lineage is… questionable. But your father has proved himself useful. You don't want to fall in with the wrong crowd. I can help you there."

"I think I can find out who are the wrong sort myself, thanks." Elizabeth wasn't sure where the confidence came from. A few months ago she would have jumped at the chance to be friends with someone so obviously powerful.

Luckily, Hermione burst back in, wearing her uniform and robes. "I've just being up with the conductor, and he says that we're almost there. You better change."

Ron pushed past Draco to the door. "I'll stand out here for a minute," his ears turning pink. After everyone left, Elizabeth slipped out of her Muggle clothes and into her uniform. The grey skirt and vest reminded her of Dudley's old clothes, but they fit, so she couldn't complain. The white shirt wasn't so bad, but the tie was ridiculous. She felt like it was slowly choking her. She called out to Ron that he could come back in while she put on her socks and shoes on.

Waiting outside the compartment for Ron to change, she threw the robe around her shoulders. Hermione leaned against the wall in outside as well. "We'll be there soon, you know, and take the boats from the station to the castle. I read all about it in _Hogwarts: A History_." Elizabeth was already overwhelmed by the girl's constant prattling. "What house do you think you'll get sorted into? Anything would be alright for me, except Slytherin, of course." Elizabeth was starting to worry. She'd wanted to be in her Dad's house, of course, but now it seemed like it might not be such a good wish.

Ron changed quickly, and soon they were on the promised boats. Floating up to the castle, Elizabeth recognized Minerva standing at the top of the stairs, shouting for the first years to come to her.

Elizabeth hardly listened to the lecture that was being given, about houses and points. Her mind was drifting. She hadn't asked how students were sorted into houses, but she wondered if she had any say. Ron's whole family was in Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw didn't seem too bad. She'd heard her father make snide remarks about how Hufflepuffs were… well… fluffy, kind of. And Slytherin…

They were being ushered into the Great Hall. All the first years were lined up facing the other students, their backs to the teacher's table. Elizabeth stole a look over her shoulder at her father, who gave her a small smile and took a drink of whatever was in his goblet.


	7. Chapter 7

The hat sat on Elizabeth's head, and whispered in her ear. "Ah, so many choices with you… Slytherin and Gryffindor blood both, I see. Not a bad mind, though. Of course I'd imagine your father would like you to be in his house." Elizabeth looked out over the students, and her eyes fell on the Slytherin table. There was something about that table… everyone at it looked a little… angry. The hat was droning on, waffling in its decision until finally Elizabeth whispered.

"Not Slytherin. Please. Not Slytherin."

"Not Slytherin? Are you sure? You'd be great."

"Not Slytherin." Elizabeth pleaded one more time.

"Alright then, if not Slytherin, better be… GRYFFINDOR!" The hat screamed the last word to the hall, and the Gryffindor table erupted into cheers.

"We got Evans!" The Weasley twins were high-fiving everyone who would return the favor.

Elizabeth slipped off the stool, not looking behind her. She didn't want to see the disappointment in her father's eyes.

At the teacher's table, Severus continued to sip the pumpkin juice in his goblet, waiting for Elizabeth to turn around. When she didn't, he sat back in his chair. _I wonder what that's about?_ He looked at Minerva. She was giving him an "I won" sort of look. He scowled in response, and watched Elizabeth sit beside Ron Weasley at the Gryffindor table. The trim on her grey uniform had turned scarlet and gold. _Just like Lily,_ he thought fondly.

*S*S*

A knock on his chamber door around 11:30 startled Severus out of his trance over his nightly cup of tea. It didn't come from the door that connected his chambers to the Slytherin common room, which is where he would have expected it. He usually stayed up a bit later the first few nights of school, ready for homesick first-years.

He opened his hallway door to reveal his daughter.

"Elizabeth! What are you doing out of bed at this hour?" He pulled her inside and closed the door. "Sit." He pointed to the sofa, then firecalled Minerva.

"You're missing a lion, I'm afraid." He said, irritated that it was so easy to slip out of the Gryffindor common room.

"Is she alright?" Miverva's head asked.

"As far as I know. What is the penalty for being out after curfew in Gryffindor, Professor?"

"Detention." Minerva sighed. "Would you like her to serve it with me or with you?"

"I'll take care of it. We're going to talk."

"Let me know if you aren't bringing her back tonight."

Snape nodded, pulled his head out of the fireplace, and turned to Elizabeth. "What were you thinking? It's your first night, and already you're out after curfew!" Elizabeth looked down at the floor. "Well?"

"I needed to talk to you."

"Well then you go to your head of house and she will let you use her floo."

"I didn't know I could do that."

Severus sighed and sat down beside her. "What did you want to talk about?" His tone was quieter now.

"Umm… Are you angry?"

"Of course I am. This is not a castle to be roaming around in the middle of the night."

"Not about that…" Elizabeth paused. "About the sorting." She played with a string that was coming loose on the sofa.

Something clicked in Severus' head. Of course. That's why she hadn't looked at him at dinner. She thought he was upset she wasn't in Slytherin. "Elizabeth." He tilted her face up to look at him. "It doesn't matter to me what house you are in. The hat places students where their talents are most able to be utilized." He looked into her eyes. "You, my child, have your mother's heart. There's only one place in this school where such self-sacrifice is encouraged, and that's where you are. Now." He straightened. "That is not an excuse to be reckless. Just because you have absolutely no self-preservation instinct, doesn't mean you shouldn't try to develop one."

Elizabeth nodded. "I didn't really think…"

"I know. That's what always happens." He ran his hand through his hair. "You have detention with me tomorrow at 7. Meet me in my office."

"Yes, sir."

Severus put one arm around her shoulders. "Do you want to sleep here? Or go back to the dorm?"

Elizabeth had an urge to sleep in her room in the dungeons, but she wasn't sure how she'd explain that to her new classmates.

"I guess I'll go back."

Severus nodded. "Good. I'm sure there is some foolery going on in the Tower tonight, since Minerva doesn't seem to monitor her house." He smiled gently. "Maybe it's good that you aren't a Slytherin. You get enough of me breathing down your neck at home." Elizabeth smiled ruefully and learned against his side.

"I really am sorry about coming down here."

"You don't need to be sorry about coming, Elizabeth. You just need to do it correctly next time. After curfew, you go through your Head of House. Clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright then, let's go."

He walked her to the Fat Lady, waited while she said the password and stepped inside. He didn't bother directing her to bed, knowing from the noise that the common room was still full. He turned and went back down to the dungeons, taking to brief detour through his own common room to make sure that his students were conforming to their bed time. As he'd hoped, the only ones left in the common room were a few 6th years who were allowed to up because they would need to study for NEWTS, and 7th years who Severus allowed to do just about anything as long as they weren't destructive or out after curfew.

Back in his room, he lay down, with only enough energy to glare at Lily's portrait, in which she was still doing her "Elizabeth is a Gryffindor" dance. "Watch it, Evans. I'll send you back to Spinner's End." Lily just laughed and blew him a kiss as he drifted off.

*S*S*

Two hours of scrubbing cauldrons in silence was not at all Elizabeth's idea of a good time. At 9 o'clock, she snuck a look at Severus, who was grading papers behind his desk. "Professor?"

Severus looked up. "Yes?"

"Couldn't you just use a spell to clean these?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I could, but I've found that scrubbing cauldrons is an excellent way to modify behavior." He glanced at his watch. "You're done for the night. Come here for a moment." He turned his chair to the side as she came around the desk. His eyes were almost level with hers when he sat. "Why did you call me 'Professor' just now?" He stood her between his knees.

"Umm… I guess… I thought, since I was in trouble…"

Severus smirked. "Am I not your father when you're in trouble?" His voice was gentle, curious.

"Yes, sir." Elizabeth smiled a little.

"You call me 'Professor' in class, but that's it, understand? I'm you father first. Always." Elizabeth nodded, and put her arms around his neck. Severus held her until she pulled away.

"See you tomorrow?"

Severus nodded. "At breakfast. Hopefully we don't have to make a habit out of this evening nonsense, Elizabeth Rose."

"No, sir."

"Good. Now you have to get to your dorm. I want you in bed in half an hour."

"Yes, Dad." She kissed his cheek and all but ran from the room.

Severus watched her go, rolling his eyes at her exuberance. How different she was from the terrified little girl he'd discovered on the floor of the Dursleys' kitchen.

*S*S*

Thursday night, Elizabeth was sitting in a chair in the common room with Ron when Fred came in and pushed his brother off his chair. "So you guys have Potions tomorrow?" He'd overheard Ron complaining at dinner.

"Yeah, double with Slytherin." Ron picked himself up off the floor.

"Man, that's the worst. Snape loves his snakes, Gryffindors don't stand a chance in that class."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I don't know why you are all so afraid of him."

"You haven't seen your dad in class, Elizabeth. You just wait. He's a terror."

"He says he has to be that way so that no one gets killed." Elizabeth said, feeling a bit protective over her father.

"Transfiguration is more dangerous, and McGonagall isn't like that." Fred rolled his eyes.

"She kind of is…" Ron related their experience, earlier that day, when McGonagall had threatened to turn one of them into a pocket watch because they were late.

"Well, watch your step in Potions. First year Gryffindors always have double potions with Slytherin. There's kind of an… unspoken rule." Fred paused.

"What?"

"Don't answer questions, or at least don't answer them correctly. Don't do anything that would show up a Slytherin or there's trouble later. Percy answered a question his first year and a Slytherin hexed him after class so that one of his legs was longer than the other for the rest of the day."

Elizabeth looked at him in shock. "But… didn't he tell someone?"

"Why? Then he's not only a show-off but a rat too." Fred looked at both of them. "I tell you this because you're my brother and you," he looked at Elizabeth, "are a cute kid. Watch your nose. And spread the word, especially with Granger. She's most likely to know something anyway." With that, Fred was gone, and Ron and Elizabeth were left sitting, bewildered, in the common room.

*S*S*

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of Potionmaking." Professor Snape stood at the front of the classroom. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death— if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Elizabeth listened to his speech, praying that he wouldn't be calling on anyone today. "Evans!" Elizabeth groaned inwardly. "What would I get if I added powered rood of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Severus looked at his daughter.

"I don't know, sir." Elizabeth said quietly.

Severus narrowed his eyes slightly. They'd studied that part of the book the week before. She knew this material. He saw Hermoine's hand out of the corner of his eyes, but he ignored it, wanting to get to the bottom of the nonsense his daughter was giving him.

"Let's try again. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"I don't know, sir." Elizabeth's eyes were pleading with him. Malfoy's hand was up across the aisle, but again Severus ignored the alternative.

"What is the difference, Miss Evans, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"I don't know, sir." Elizabeth looked at Malfoy. "I think Draco does, though, why don't you try him?"

Severus was appalled. How dare she pretend she didn't know the information and then be so snotty? "For your information, Miss Evans, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite." He cast a terrifying stare at the rest of the class. "Well? Why aren't you writing this down?" He turned back to his daughter. "5 points from Gryffindor, Miss Evans, for your disrespectful tone."

The rest of the period went no better, but at least Elizabeth was spared the spotlight as Neville almost blew up the dungeon with his potion. "Merlin, Elizabeth. Your own dad taking points from you?" Ron whispered under the commotion.

Finally, the hour ended, and Snape declared them dismissed. Except, of course, for…

"Miss Evans, stay behind." Elizabeth knew that tone, low and silky. It was dangerous when he sounded like that.

"Would you like to explain yourself, young lady?"

"I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to be disrespectful."

"We'll discuss that in a moment. I'm asking if you'd like to explain why you pretended not to know the answers to the questions I asked you." Severus crossed his arms over his chest.

Elizabeth looked down at the worktable. "I couldn't remember the answers."

Severus sighed. "My office." He pointed at the door. The trip to the office was short and quiet, with Elizabeth becoming more and more uncomfortable with each step.

When they arrived, Severus gestured to the chair before his desk. "Sit." He ordered. She obeyed, and after a moment, he spoke again. "Elizabeth, if you genuinely had trouble remembering material, we would be finished with this conversation. But memory is not one of your faults. However, lying is. Luckily for me, you aren't good at it. So why don't you tell me what you were thinking?"

Elizabeth took a deep breath. "Have you ever noticed that Gryffindors don't answer questions in the first class?"

"Elizabeth, students rarely answer questions in the first class, period. No matter their house. I called on you because I thought I'd get an answer and could move on. A good example for everyone else. But that's not what I got, is it?"

"No, sir. But there's a reason that Gryffindors don't answer the questions."

Severus groaned. "That kind of crack-pot pact has your house arranged to make me crazy, Elizabeth?"

"It's not my house, sir. It's yours." She looked down at her hands. "Any Gryffindor that shows up a Slytherin by answering questions or getting a potion correct in the first class is… a target later."

"What are you talking about?"

"If a Gryffindor makes themselves look good in your class the first day, older Slytherins hex them later. Percy's first year, he answered a question you asked and he had to walk around the rest of the day with one leg longer than the other." Elizabeth looked up. "I'm sorry. I just didn't want…" She trailed off when she saw Severus' face.

"Are they still doing that?"

Elizabeth looked in surprise at her father. "What do you mean, 'still'?"

Severus leaned back in his chair. "When I was your age, it was a school-wide 'thing'. I remember my first class, double transfiguration with Gryffindor." He sighed. "I didn't answer either."

"Bet Grandma didn't keep _pushing_ you though."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Your grandmother didn't know I knew anything. I thought we'd squelched this ridiculous little war. We'll have to re-examine it." He frowned. "Speaking of me _pushing _you, we need to discuss your attitude."

"I didn't know how to make you stop!" Elizabeth protested, trying to dig herself out of trouble.

Severus shook his head. "Elizabeth Evans, when did you find out about this nonsense?"

"Last night." Elizabeth examined the toes of her shoes.

"And was there a time between last night and class this morning that you could have come to me?"

"Yes, sir."

"Was there a time during the class that you could have asked to speak to me privately?"

"Yes, sir."

"Would it have been out of the question to answer the question and then speak to me after class?"

"No, sir."

"Well, then. It seems that in addition to your disrespectful attitude, you are also guilty of lying to me before when I asked you to explain yourself, and hiding information from me, which put you in danger. Have I left anything out?"

"No, sir." Elizabeth's eyes were glued to the floor. "I'm sorry, dad."

"I know. But you know that hiding information from me is really the worst thing, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Come here." Elizabeth dragged her feet until she arrived at his side. Severus sighed, and put his arms around her. "If I were my father, I'd beat you senseless," he scolded. "How many times do I have to remind you that it's my job to take care of you?"

Elizabeth laid her head on his shoulder, not at all fazed by his threat. The lying was going to cost her some kind of punishment, but she was certain that she would retain her sense. "It's hard."

Severus leaned back, remembering how distrustful he'd been after years of his father's abuse. "I know. But listen to me." He tilted his head to look at her. "You have to trust me. There are many people in our world that love you, and there are many who see you as the downfall of their dark leader." He fixed her with a stern look. "So I need to know when you feel threatened. Although I suppose I'm glad to know that you felt fear in this situation. Proves that you can."

"I just didn't want to be a baby."

"Well, unfortunately for you, you will always be my baby." He dropped a kiss on her forehead. "Even more unfortunate is that you chose to lie to me today." He raised an eyebrow. "I want you in our quarters directly after your last class today. You'll stay until Sunday evening. Make sure you bring your homework, because you will have plenty of study time."


	8. Chapter 8

Severus pointed a long finger at his daughter across the table. "You will obey Madam Hooch to the letter, or you'll be scrubbing cauldrons for a week. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Elizabeth finished her muffin. She was in their quarters after falling asleep on the couch after astronomy class the night before. "Once I learn to fly, can I do it at home on holidays?"

Severus smirked. "I suppose. I have something to attend to today that will keep me busy until dinner." Severus looked at his watch. "In fact, I need to get going. And you have Transfiguration. You'd do well not to be late this week."

Elizabeth looked abased. "She told you?"

"Of course she did. You're lucky she didn't give you detention, or you'd be—

"I know, I know, scrubbing cauldrons." Elizabeth dodged the smack Severus aimed at her and hurried out the door.

*S*S*

Elizabeth watched Madam Hooch stalk off the pitch leading Neville by his good arm.

"Look, Neville left his little toy." Malfoy's voice startled her out of the "my flying lesson was just ruined" funk.

Malfoy held up Neville's Remembrall. "I better leave it somewhere for him to find."

"Give it here, Malfoy." Elizabeth held out her hand for the sphere.

"I don't think so, Evans." He mounted his broom and hovered.

"Don't you dare," Elizabeth stepped toward the other student.

"Or you'll what?" Malfoy rose higher in the air. "If you want it, Evans, you better come and get it." He took off, leaving Elizabeth behind. She threw one leg over her broom.

"Elizabeth! Don't!" Hermione hissed. "You'll be EXPELLED."

Elizabeth ignored her and took off, finding that keeping her balance on the broom was easier than anticipated. She followed Malfoy, who had soared above her. When she reached him, he cocked his arm back and, with a snide "Fetch, Evans"; he threw the ball toward the castle.

Elizabeth lunged, letting the broom carry her toward the ball, snatching it just before it smacked into the window of McGonagall's office. Settling on the ground, she managed to fall gracefully into the grass. Pulling herself off the ground, she found herself looking at a very angry grandmother.

"ELIZABETH ROSE EVANS! How dare you! You might have broken your neck!" Before she knew it, she was being dragged through the halls until she stood outside the charms classroom. A few terse words from the Professor, and they were joined by a 5th year Gryffindor. "Follow me." Minerva marched both students further down the hall and into an empty classroom.

She closed the door firmly behind them and turned to the older student. "Miss Evans, this is Oliver Wood. Wood, I've found you a Seeker."

Both McGonagall and Wood seemed very excited about the prospect, but Elizabeth was a little confused. Was she in trouble?

"Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Evans?" Wood asked. Without waiting for an answer, he pressed on. "She's just the build for a Seeker. Light, speedy, we'll have to get her a decent broom, Professor—a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."

"I'll speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule. Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. Flattened in that last match by Slytherin. I couldn't look at your father for weeks."

Minerva looked over her glasses. "I want to hear you're training hard, young lady, or I may change my mind about punishing you." She paused. "You need a permit signed to play. I'll ask your father at dinner."

She glanced at the clock on the desk. "Speaking of that, it's dinner time." She ushered her lions into the hall and bid them goodbye.

*S*S*

All through dinner, Elizabeth stole glances at the teacher table. She had a bad feeling about her chances of obtaining a signed permit for Quidditch. She finished telling Ron everything that had happened between the pitch and dinner, and was now poking at her dinner.

"You must be the youngest house player in about—

"A century," Elizabeth wished she could get some kind of confirmation from the head table. She was hungry, but too nervous to eat. "Don't tell anyone, Oliver wants it to be a secret."

Fred and George Weasley came up then, and blocked her view of the teachers, babbling about the Quidditch Cup. Unfortunately, they also blocked her view of Professor Snape's approach.

"Our quarters. Now."

Mortified, Elizabeth got up and headed towards the door, trying to ignore the prying eyes of her classmates. Once outside, she looked at Severus. "Dad! How could you do that?"

He merely fixed her with a stare that banished any attempt at speech. He raised his arm and pointed wordlessly in the direction of the dungeons.

Once the door closed, she found herself eye to eye with a furious Severus.

"What were you thinking?"

"Malfoy stole Neville's Remebrall," Elizabeth said quietly. "So I went to get it back."

"Unsupervised, on a broom?" Severus reminded himself that a leash was not a practical solution for raising a child.

"Well, he took off first…"

"I believe there is a Muggle phrase about a bridge that would be applicable here," Severus frowned. "Did we or did we not have a discussion about flying this morning?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you thought it was a good idea to fly when Madam Hooch told you not to? And at a high rate of speed, from what Minerva says?"

"I didn't really think…"

"Clearly." Severus took a deep breath. "What did I tell you about disobeying Madam Hooch today?"

"A week of scrubbing cauldrons," Elizabeth answered sullenly.

Severus nodded shortly. "How many times do I have to talk to you about being a daredevil?"

"I'm sorry, Dad. I just knew I'd be okay."

Severus shook his head. "You just knew, did you?" He rubbed his hand over his face. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Flying?" Elizabeth looked at her father, surprised at the turn in the conversation.

"Flying."

"Yes," Elizabeth smiled hesitantly.

Severus sat on the sofa and gestured for her to sit beside him. They were quiet for a while until Elizabeth finally let her curiosity get the better of her.

"Are you going to sign my Quidditch form?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "First years aren't permitted to try out for their house teams."

"Grandma said that Albus might make an exception."

Severus snorted. "I've no doubt he will. He wants to make up for everything in your life by letting you get away with murder. I'd be willing to bet that if you started calling him 'grandpa', he would move Hogwarts to China." He ran his hand through her hair. "I love you, Elizabeth, and I wish I could reverse a lot of things in your life, but I have to focus on your life _right now_. And I'm not sure that bending rules to indulge your desire to fly would be my best parenting decision."

Elizabeth sagged against the sofa cushions. "I thought… maybe…"

Severus raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Maybe I'd get to be friends with more people, you know? It's hard because most of the older students have had you in class… I just thought that it would be good."

Severus hid a smile. _Perhaps the child has more Slytherin in her than the Hat gave her credit for._ "Did you finish your dinner?"

Elizabeth looked at him, surprised at the change in topic. "I didn't really start it."

Snape snapped his fingers for a house elf, and requested dinner for both of them. "I'll consider your request."

Elizabeth sighed and nodded.

The house elf returned, putting food on the table. "Eat," he ordered. "And then get ready for bed."

Elizabeth looked at him. "Dad, there's a party…"

"Would you rather start scrubbing cauldrons tonight?" Severus raised an eyebrow. He didn't plan on following through with the threat. She could have been hurt, but he already despaired that he'd never get her to think of herself when someone else was in trouble.

She shook her head, and started to eat. Her father smirked. "I'll be right back. Try not to get in any trouble while I'm gone." He went into his room, closed the door, and cast a silencing charm before sitting on the bed and glaring at Lily's portrait. "You will not believe what your daughter did today."

Lily was sitting on the overstuffed chair in the portrait. "What?"

Severus relayed the day's events, doing his best to breathe slowly.

"Is she alright? Where is she? What did you do?" Lily was standing now, as if she could pop out of the portrait.

"She's fine. She's out at the table eating dinner."

"Okay, so now what?" Lily could tell there was something else.

"Her little stunt gained Minerva's attention, and now she wants my permission to be on the Quidditch team." Severus flopped back on the bed, not caring that it was a decidedly childish gesture.

"First years aren't allowed—

"Albus used his Elizabeth-addled brain to make an exception." Severus silently cursed the old man for making his job harder. "The problem is; I have no good reason, other than it just isn't done, to deny her." He looked over at Lily, who had sat back down and was playing with a lock of her hair.

"So… what are you going to do?"

"She really pulled the rug out from underneath me with that 'making friends' comment." He mumbled to himself. He sighed. "I suppose, under more restrictions that any Seeker in the history of time, she could play."

"Softy." Lily laughed from her chair. "You knew right away that you were going to sign that paper. Why do you torture yourself like this?"

"I did not." Severus snorted at the insinuation. "In fact, my first thought was to ground her from her broom, and then I remembered that she didn't have a broom." He ran his hand through his hair. "I suppose I'll have to get her one."

"Oh, Sev, get her a good one! The school uses those old Cleansweeps, rubbish excuse for brooms. I hear that they have ones that are so much faster now."

"Faster? I'm not sure I want faster." Severus had a vision of Elizabeth hurling through space. "And where do you hear about brooms?"

"Portraits in Hogwarts are connected, remember? I was chatting with the Fat Lady, and some of the Gryffindors came by, chatting about a new Nimbus."

"I don't know where she got the Quidditch ability, if I remember correctly, you were a disaster on a broom." He laughed, remembering Lily giving her broom handle a death grip.

"Are you serious?" Lily rolled her eyes. "She got it from you."

"I never played Quidditch," Severus protested.

"Not at school, but you never got off your broom in the summer. You spent hours doing tricks in Remus' backyard, which is how you broke every bone in your body at one point or another."

Severus groaned. "That is not an endorsement for getting Elizabeth a broom."

*S*S*

The next morning, before breakfast, Ron met Elizabeth outside the Great Hall. "How'd it go?"

"Not sure, he was really upset about the whole Malfoy incident."

"He HAS to let you play."

"Packing, Evans?" Malfoy's oily voice came from behind the pair. "No, of course not. Not the Girl-Who-Lived. Daddy save you?"

"Go away, Malfoy," Ron growled. "You've caused enough trouble."

"I don't believe I have, _Weasel."_ Malfoy turned to Elizabeth. "Let's settle this like… well, I suppose I'm a gentleman." He sneered. "Wizard's Duel. Midnight in the Trophy Room. Be there. Unless you're afraid."

"Of course she's not." Ron's hand was on his wand. "I'm her second. Who's yours?"

"Crabbe." The boy beside Malfoy looked surprised. With that, Malfoy and company swept away.

"What do you mean, my second?" Elizabeth looked at Ron as they went into the Great Hall.

"I'm there… well… in case you die." Ron admitted. Elizabeth started to think that this wasn't such a great idea.

*S*S*

At quarter to twelve, Elizabeth, Ron, and Hermione were in the hall outside the Fat Lady. Ron was glaring at Hermione, who had basically invited herself, complete with her constant scolding soundtrack.

When they arrived at the Trophy Room, they found it empty. It was still empty 10 minutes later. And 20 minutes later. And it was still empty when they heard Filtch coming down the hall.

"You know that Malfoy set you up, don't you?" Hermione's know-it-all voice was grating on Elizabeth's nerves.

"Yeah, we got that," she snapped and moved towards the door.

"You can't go out there!" Ron whispered frantically. "Filtch is out there, and we are out WAY after curfew."

"You two are going to get us expelled," Hermione whispered back.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. She didn't want to get caught, the thought of how angry her father would be if he knew she was roaming around at midnight made expulsion seem like an easier road. But they had to get out of that room eventually.

Slipping into the hall, Elizabeth looked both ways before gesturing to the others to follow. They had all stepped fully into the hall before they heard Filtch again. Close by.

"Run," whispered Elizabeth and they all fled down the corridor. On the look out for Flitch's cat, Elizabeth spotted a door. "There!" She ran to it, but found it locked.

"Alohomora!" Hermione spelled the door open, much to her companions' surprise. "Honestly, you should really _read_ the Charms textbook."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and dashed into the room. They closed the door behind them and leaned against it. Elizabeth felt a sense of relief until she looked up. And saw a huge three-headed dog above her head. "Oh. My. G—

"WHAT IS THAT?" Ron screeched as the two girls lunged for the door and threw themselves into the hallway. Elizabeth had to grab Ron and pull him behind her because he was staring, open mouthed at the huge dog.

Hearing Filtch, they ran back to the Fat Lady, who let them in with a disapproving look. "Miss Evans, you better hope your father doesn't find out about your little excursion." They ignored her and hurled into the common room, collapsing on the sofas.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Ron repeated. "Why would they keep a menace like that in the school?"

Hermione sat up and glared at Ron. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Elizabeth was still lying on the sofa, with her legs hanging of the side. "I was too busy looking at its heads."

"It was standing on a trap door," Hermione said, rolling her eyes at the other two's lack of observation skills. "It's guarding something."

Elizabeth couldn't care about that at the moment, she dragged herself to her dorm and collapsed on the bed. As she drifted off to sleep she couldn't help but think, _thank Merlin Dad didn't catch us tonight. It definitely wouldn't help in the Quidditch department._

*S*S*

A week later, owls rushed in for mail drop. Hedwig dropped a large package at Elizabeth's place and preened, waiting for praise. Elizabeth stroked the owl's head and gave her a piece of toast before she flew away with the others. The package was wrapped in brown, addressed to her, and tied with heavy string. Elizabeth untied it to reveal… a Nimbus 2000 racing broom and a signed Quidditch consent form.

She looked up to the head table where her father was sipping his morning coffee. She grinned and mouthed "Thank you." He nodded, hiding his own smile. _Really, Severus. You really are going soft._

*S*S*

"Your dad is a prat," Ron threw himself down at the table for dinner. Hermione shot him a horrified look, astounded that Rob would speak that way about a teacher.

Elizabeth took a bite of chicken. "Just in class. He's not like that all the time."

"In class, in the halls, I'm talking about that torture-device disguised as a test today." Ron poured pumpkin juice and downed it like it was something stronger.

Elizabeth had to agree that the test was difficult. The pain relief potion they were assigned was complicated. It took several steps, and was supposed to end up a light clear green. She could tell by looking at hers that it hadn't been quite right, it was a little darker than it should have been, and a little cloudy, but she hoped it was passable. Ron's potion had turned purple and chunky.

"I'm going to fail, Snape is going to send that grade home, and my mum is going to freak." Ron took a huge spoonful of potatoes, his appetite never dampened. "He hates me."

"He doesn't hate you. He just doesn't like people who mess around in class. He doesn't even like _me_ when I'm messing around."

As if Snape knew what they were talking about, deep green slips of paper began flying through the air, depositing themselves beside each Gryffindor and Slytherin First Years' plate. Hermione, of course eagerly opened her slip to reveal an "E", which was great, considering how stingy Severus was with his "O"s.

Ron opened his, squeezing his eyes shut until he finally cracked them open to look at his grade. "T," Ron groaned. "He loves giving me Ts. And now I have to get this slip signed. Mum's gonna kill me." He held up the slip and read the comments aloud. " 'This potion is most likely deadly to anyone to would ingest it, which is almost exactly the opposite of a pain relieving potion.' Prat."

Elizabeth was busy blocking him out. She slowly opened her slip and read her grade to herself. "A- Acceptable. This potion would serve as a pain reliever if the patient had a very low level of pain. I expect you in the lab at 7 this evening to try again. Plan on spending the night." Elizabeth looked up at the head table to see Severus looking at her, eyebrow raised. She nodded, groaning silently.

"What'd you get?" Ron leaned over and snatched the paper from her hand. "Why do you have to redo it? Acceptable means Acceptable, right?"

"Dad doesn't like anything less than an "E" in any class, but he seems to think that I have some kind of genetic predisposition for potions. He thinks I don't apply myself." She left out that Severus' main blame for Elizabeth's lack of focus was Ron. _Friday night in the potions lab. Bloody Brilliant._

*S*S*

Elizabeth found Severus in the living room when she arrived, with 10 minutes to spare.

"Put your things in your room and meet me in the lab." Severus had taken off his robes and was dressed in Muggle jeans and a sweater. Elizabeth discarded her own robe, knowing that it was easier to deal with flaming cauldrons without the flapping sleeves.

When she arrived at his private lab, Severus was rewriting the instructions on the chalkboard he'd transfigured out of a section of wall.

"Dad?"

"Yes?" He didn't turn around, just kept writing. "Why do I have to do this? I got an A."

"Barely. The potion you made today could only hope to dull the pain of a hangnail."

"You can't change my grade, not everyone got to redo it."

"No, I cannot. But I can teach you how to do it properly so that you will know it when you need it." He finished writing on the board. "Collect your materials from the cupboard and set up over here near me so I can watch what you're doing." Elizabeth sighed and obeyed, lighting a fire under her cauldron.

"Elizabeth."

"What?" Her question came out a little sharper than she'd intended.

"First, you can change the attitude." Severus scowled.

"Sorry," Elizabeth mumbled.

"My original thought was that the recipe requires you to add the ingredients to a cold cauldron. Heat too soon makes it cloudy."

Elizabeth extinguished the heat and started to dump the first ingredient into the cauldron.

"Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth just looked at him.

"A COLD cauldron. You just exposed it to 30 seconds of heat, you need to wait for it to cool down."

Elizabeth bit her tongue and waited until the cauldron was cold before starting again. Severus watched her, stopping her whenever she made a mistake until she stirred the mixture clockwise instead of counter-clockwise, causing the potion to darken. Severus sighed, levitated her cauldron and dumped it in the sink. "Start over."

"DAD!"

"Elizabeth." Severus looked down at her.

"I can't do it, okay? I'm not the potions kid, I'm sorry. I don't want to do it!" Elizabeth could feel the blood rushing to her face, and tears threatening to spill over. She didn't want to disappoint him, but she was so useless at this.

Severus watched his daughter's tantrum, then took the two steps that separated them and put his arms around her. In that moment, Elizabeth felt him change from Potions Master to her father, and sank against him.

"I'm sorry, dad, I really am. I'm just not good at it. I can't do it. I'm trying." She lost the battle with her tears and she felt Severus sigh.

"Okay, Rosie. Okay." He walked her up the stairs to their living room. "Say hello to your mother, I'll order tea."

Elizabeth went into Severus' bedroom and flopped down on his bed.

"What's wrong, petal?" Lily was sitting in her armchair.

"Mucked up a potion. Dad's mad at me."

"I'm sure he's not. He just wants to share that part of his life with you."

"I'm a bloody potions disaster."

"Language, Elizabeth." Lily scolded. "And I'm sure you're not. You're too much like your father."

As if on cue, Severus opened the door. "Tea, Elizabeth."

"Severus, tell your daughter that you are not angry because she messed up a potion."

Severus sighed, "Elizabeth, I am not angry with you." He ran his hand through his hair. "We just need to work on it."

"Dad!"

"Come out here, sit on the sofa and we'll talk."

Elizabeth reluctantly followed his directions. She threw herself onto the cushions.

"I'm sorry, I think I asked you to sit, not launch yourself like some kind of Muggle missile." Severus looked pointedly at her. "No feet on the table." He put the tea tray on the table and sat beside the sulking preteen. "Listen to me, Elizabeth Rose. I am not upset because you did not create an appropriate potion today in class. I'm not upset because you had similar success this evening. I am, however, perplexed at why you seem to have so little attention for the subject." He handed her a cup of tea. "Care to explain that?"

"I _am_ paying attention. I'm just not good at it."

Severus sighed, something he didn't remember doing nearly as much before he had an 11 year old. "Elizabeth, I will admit that there is a certain level of natural talent that is necessary to be an excellent brewer. But natural talent becomes more of an issue in higher level potions, not a simple pain reliever." He put his teacup down. "It doesn't take God-given talent to stir something counter-clockwise, my girl. It takes focus."

Elizabeth stared at her tea. "I can't be as good as you," she mumbled.

"Well, you're 11, so I'm not expecting you to be." Severus suddenly wished he'd had this conversation in his bedroom so that Lily could translate their daughter's preteen-girl language.

Elizabeth wasn't sure if she could translate it herself. She just knew that she had a desire to make her father proud, but another, just as strong, desire to run as far from Potions as possible. "I just… I don't know."

Severus took her teacup and put it on the table before pulling her against his side. "Look at me." She dragged her eyes up to meet his. "Elizabeth, I know that you are not a clone of me. I know that you may not be destined to be the next Potions Master. I know that you have talents that are in no way associated with a lab." She smiled weakly at that. "All I'm asking is that you do your best. You have some natural talent that could be supported by _focusing_," he narrowed his eyes on the last word, "and spending less time entertaining Mr. Weasley."

"How do you know?" She grumbled, stirring her tea.

"If you didn't have talent, your potion would have come out purple and chunky like your friend's, instead of barely acceptable." He stood. "Now, let's try again, shall we? You're going to make common medicinal potions if it kills me. You will not be one of those people who buys everything from the apothecary." He smirked at her until she rolled her eyes and followed him down the stairs to work on the dreaded green potion one more time.


	9. Chapter 9

Elizabeth was stuck between Ron and Draco in Divination Club. She didn't want to join the stupid extracurricular activity, but Hermione was insistent that they prepare for third year, when they would have the class. Ron hated the club too, but Elizabeth was particularly annoyed by it, since she was told almost every time that she was going to die in various vague yet horrible ways. It was not her favorite activity any time, but sitting next to Draco was making it worse. The point, supposedly, was to have your tealeaves read by a person from another house, who would be willing to give you terrible news. Not that Ron ever cotton-rolled her terrible fate. The first time he'd seen the Grim in her cup, he'd blurted out "Death. Death. Death." in a way that made Professor Trelawney delighted. Elizabeth had left class that day in terror.

*S*S*

"_What is it?" Severus asked finally, after a completely silent meal. Elizabeth poked at her food before looking at him fearfully._

"_I'm going to die."_

_Severus looked startled for a moment, and then remembered his child's schedule. "Elizabeth, did you have that ridiculous club today?"_

_Elizabeth nodded. "Ron saw a Grim in my cup."_

_Her father sighed. "You certainly will die one day. In many many many years, after living a long and happy life." He frowned. "Divination is an… inexact science. While there have certainly been prophecies in the past, the thought that it is a skill that can be taught is up for debate." He hesitated to trash another professor's subject, but he hated to see her like this. "Take everything in that group with a grain of salt, Elizabeth. Believe me, you will not learn your ultimate fate from tealeaves."_

*S*S*

"Death." Ron pronounced, looking at Pansy Parkinson's tealeaves. "Surprise, surprise."

"Death," Draco agreed, looking into Elizabeth's cup. "Can't say I'm surprised, I can think of 50 people right now that would kill you."

"Shut up, Malfoy." Ron growled.

"Don't be stupid, Weasel." Draco sneered. "Your blood-traitor family hated Snape when he was loyal to the Dark Lord, and now that he's a traitor to that too. Tell me, Evans, how does your father live with the fact that he supported the man who killed your mother?" Elizabeth looked at him, shocked into silence. "He better watch his back. There are enough Death Eater children in Slytherin that won't forgive his sudden loyalty to Mudblood lovers."

"Enough, Malfoy." Ron grabbed Elizabeth's arm. "Professor Trelawney, Elizabeth isn't feeling well, can I take her to the Hospital Wing?"

"Certainly, young man. It's very unsettling to come face to face with death, isn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am." Ron pulled her out the doors and down the hall before sitting on a bench. "Elizabeth, don't listen to him. He's a prat."

Elizabeth was breathing fast. Ron looked at her, and started to panic himself. "Stay here. I'm going to get Snape." Elizabeth shook her head, but Ron ignored it, running down the stairs to the Potions classroom. Opening the door, he was met with an irritated looking seventh year Potions class.

"Mr. Weasley?" Snape turned from the board, his eyes narrowing as he saw the look in the boy's eyes. "What is it?"

"Sir… I need you to come."

Severus waved his wand, stilling all Potions in their tracks. "Class dismissed. Leave your cauldrons, we'll finish next week." He followed Ron out the door without checking to see if he was obeyed. Ron led him upstairs to where Elizabeth was still sitting on the bench, shaking.

"Elizabeth," Severus knelt in front of her. "What happened?"

Elizabeth just shook her head, wrapping her arms tighter around herself. Severus looked questioningly at Ron.

"We had Divination Club with the Slytherins," Ron explained, looking helplessly at his friend. "Malfoy was going on about how he could think of lots of people who would want to kill her, because you…" he looked nervously at Severus. "Because you used to be a Death Eater."

_Bloody Hell_, Severus cursed silently. He gathered his child in his arms, picking her up to carry her downstairs. He'd gotten used to the way she relaxed when he held her, and so it was jarring to him when she stayed stiff in his arms. He carried her through the door of their chambers and sat with her on the sofa. He rocked her back and forth, trying to calm her. It seemed like an eternity before she spoke.

"How could you?" She whispered. "They killed Mum."

"Rosie…" He held her tighter, but she was still unmoving. "You have to understand that I was a different man when I thought your mother was married to James."

"You can't blame everything on that!" She struggled out of his arms and onto the floor. "He killed people! He killed the person you say you loved!"

"Elizabeth, listen to me."

"No! Leave me alone." She all but ran to the door. When she reached it, she looked back. "I trusted you." The door slammed behind her.

Severus' face fell into his hands. The weight of his daughter's condemnation hit him in the chest. It was worse than any Cruciatus he'd endured. He felt suddenly like he had no way to breathe. He bent forward on the sofa, letting darkness overtake him.

*S*S*

"Severus, talk to your daughter," Minerva ordered a week later, watching her son brew in his lab.

"She won't listen or talk to me," Severus said quietly, his lack of sleep and food keeping the usual bite from his voice.

"You're the adult, Severus, you make her listen."

Severus just shook his head, and bottled the sleeping draught he'd brewed.

"You should take some of that, Sev. You look awful." Minerva reached over to wipe a spill of squid ink off the table.

Severus shook his head. When he'd finished bottling, he returned to his chambers, lying listlessly on his bed. He'd gotten through the last week by working 18-hour days and collapsing into bed for a few hours of tortured sleep. The dreams he had were vivid, reliving every atrocity he'd committed as a Death Eater, and then as a spy. He both craved a sleeping draught and knew that he did not deserve the peace it would bring him.

Lily had spent the last few days trying to bring him out of his self-loathing, but had been wildly unsuccessful. She looked at him, lying on the bed in his robes, and shook her head. "Sev… please."

Severus ignored her, and closed his eyes, intent on sleep, and whatever nightmare it would bring him.

*S*S*

"_Severus Tobias Snape." The Dark Lord's voice was a hiss, even at his prime. "One of my Servants informs me that you would take the Mark. That you would become one of the strong."_

"_If it pleases you, my Lord," Severus knelt before the black-cloaked figure._

"_We shall see if you please me," the Dark wizard hissed again. Two masked men stepped from the shadows to hold Severus' arms. The one on the right rolled back Severus' robe sleeve so the Dark Lord could press the point of his wand against the bare forearm. _

_The pain ripped through Severus' body._

*S*S*

He woke, screaming, not realizing immediately that there were arms wrapping around him. The pain in his arm was residual from the dream, and he clutched the spot where Voldemort's wand tip had been. The Mark had faded to a grey memory with the Dark Lord, but the dreams… the pain was so real.

"Easy, son. It's alright now." Minerva's voice floated over his head. "Hush, it's alright." Severus relaxed into her arms, feeling very much like a young child.

"What time is it?"

"Nearly six." Minerva rubbed his back. "Severus, you have to work this out before it kills you."

"She won't talk to me." Severus looked up, his dark eyes hollow. "Did she come to you?"

McGonagall shook his head. "She won't come close."

"This stops today," Lily growled from her portrait. "I am not watching you go through any more of this." She was pacing now.

*S*S*

Elizabeth finished poking at her breakfast. Ron had stopped trying to get her to eat days ago. He usually spent his meals casting worried glances at the head table, but this morning, Snape was absent. Elizabeth waited until she could leave without causing trouble, and headed back to the dorm, hoping to go back to sleep. She wanted nothing more than her bed, but when she reached the portrait, the Fat Lady was not alone.

"Elizabeth Rose Snape, you get your backside downstairs this instant." Lily scowled at her.

"That's _not_ my name," Elizabeth said, trying to pull open the portrait unsuccessfully.

"A technicality," Lily said firmly. "Your father loves you, and the way you've been treating him in unacceptable. You've hurt him so badly he can't even punish you for throwing such a tantrum. You're going to make it right, let him talk, and apologize for acting like a petulant toddler."

"Leave me alone," Elizabeth crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't sure why she was being so hateful towards her mother. It wasn't Lily she was angry with. But there was something irrational now about her anger. It had long ago stopped being about the Death Eaters and started being about the loss of the family she'd come to love. "I'm going back to bed."

"No you aren't." A hand on the back of her neck startled her. "You either do as your mother says, or I'll carry you downstairs myself." Remus' voice was stern. He turned her to look at him. "Well?"

Elizabeth felt tears threatening, and channeled that sorrow into anger. "Leave me alone!" She tried to pull from his grasp, but was unsuccessful. A moment later, she found herself thrown over her godfather's shoulder.

"I'd calm down, young lady. That Evans temper of yours is going to get you in trouble." The blood rushed to her head.

"Put me down!"

"No."

"Remus, please! I'll walk, I promise!"

"I'm not sure I trust that," Remus was striding towards the dungeons. "I think you'll stay right where you are. Maybe it will change your attitude." He went all the way into Snape's office before setting her on her feet.

When she was on her feet, he grasped her shoulders. "Now you listen to me, young lady." He looked into her eyes. "You have no idea what your father has been through. He made choices that haunt him every day. He has to deal with that, but you don't get to judge those choices. _Everything _he has done is to protect you. You will listen to him, and you will put this to rest."

Remus looked down at his goddaughter with a look of utter disappointment. "He's ripped to shreds by what you said to him, Elizabeth, and he's a man not easily hurt. He's your father, and you can be as angry as you want, but you will be respectful. He went through Hell to protect his family, and the casualty was your mother, not _you_, so stop acting like it was. Do you understand me?"

Elizabeth nodded, wide eyed.

"Believe me, young lady, I have every capability of making you wish you'd obeyed me, so you'd better understand. If you're rejecting him, it must mean you want to deal with me." He put his hand back on the nape of her neck. "And I am not as opposed to taking you over my knee as your father is. _Let's_ go." He guided her through the portrait connecting the office to Severus' quarters.

Elizabeth's stomach clenched. Remus had never spoken to her like that. He'd never been anything but gentle and teasing. She'd never seen that look in his eyes.

Once inside, Remus pointed to the sofa. "Sit. Don't move." Remus strode into the bedroom and emerged shortly with Severus. Elizabeth looked at her father, and was startled to see how drawn he looked. It seemed that sleepless nights had come to everyone in the Snape family that week. Remus turned to Elizabeth. "I will be in the office. If I hear anything from you besides listening, we're going to have a discussion." His gaze was fierce. Elizabeth bit her lip, struggling to keep from crying.

"Yes, sir."

Remus nodded, then excused himself to the other room, leaving Severus and Elizabeth alone in the living room.

Severus sat in his armchair beside the sofa, and looked at his daughter, not sure where to start. He hadn't thought she'd ever give him the chance to explain, so he hadn't spent any time thinking of what to say. His usual calm veneer was peeling back, and his panic that he would make the situation worse threatened to surface.

"When we decided you and your mother were going into hiding, your Grandfather gave me a new set of memories," he began slowly. "He made me believe that we'd broken up, that we had had a fight that ended our relationship before we were married. In my memory, James had taken the woman I loved, and the few friends I had were gone. He made me forget that Remus and I had ever been friends. I was a very angry young man, and Lucius Malfoy saw that as an opportunity to finally close a deal he'd been trying to make for years. He wanted me to join the Dark. He'd been asking for years, but I wouldn't consider it. But he knew I was weak," Severus paused.

"I don't make excuses for my choice, Elizabeth. It was wrong, and I should have had a better grip on my principles. But I made the choice nevertheless, and I immediately regretted it. I'd wanted so badly to have something to live for, that I'd joined something that would suck the life from me. Suck the humanity from me."

"After my first meeting, I vomited all night. I'd never been more ashamed of anything I'd ever done. Your grandparents had given me a second chance, tried to give me the family I didn't have as a child, and I'd thrown in my lot with something diametrically opposed to everything they believed. I was so weak. I'd played right into Lucius' hands. I'd let the anger I felt cloud who I was, who Albus had been trying to nurture."

"I dragged myself to him and threw myself at his mercy, hoping that he'd have me arrested and sent to Azkaban, so at least I could be alone to pay for the things I'd done." Severus wasn't sparing any detail. He never wanted to have this conversation again. "I did things during that first meeting… I couldn't live with myself."

"But he didn't have me arrested. Instead, he sent me back, as a spy for the Light. I served the Dark Lord while spying on him until you defeated him ten years ago, and then I continued to monitor the Death Eater activity until this summer. Albus released me from service because the Dark Lord has been gone so long, and because you needed me." He looked beseechingly at the child on the sofa.

"Elizabeth, I'm not asking you to forgive me. I've done so much wrong in my life that I can't expect forgiveness. I don't deserve it. Nothing you can accuse me of would be something I haven't blamed myself for. I don't deserve to be forgiven for the sins I've committed. I can't ask you to forgive me, but I'm begging you to understand the changes I've made so that I could be the best father I can be. I…" his voice broke, and he couldn't say anything else.

Elizabeth felt sick as she watched her father crumble. He'd always been so strong, she'd never been afraid that he couldn't be during the last few months. She couldn't stand seeing him so broken. The anger and loss she'd felt all week was fading as tears started to roll down her cheeks. Without thinking, she stood and went to stand before him. He flinched, as if he expected her to slap him, but instead she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.

It wasn't until he exhaled that he realized he'd been holding his breath. He held her around the waist as she sobbed into his shoulder. It took several moments for him to realize that she was really there, and that she needed him, but when he did, he rubbed her back, rocking her back and forth, giving her the comfort he'd wanted to give her a week ago. "I'm sorry," she mumbled into his robes. "I shouldn't have been…"

"Hush," Severus pulled her into his lap and stroked her hair. "You have nothing to be sorry for." She finally sobbed herself out, and sleepless nights caught up with her. Severus listened to her breathing as she fell asleep, and then succumbed to his own exhaustion.

Upon hearing several minutes of silence, Remus came back through the portrait to find his best friend and goddaughter asleep in the armchair. Elizabeth's head was on her father's chest, much the way she'd slept as a baby. Remus took a blanket from the sofa and draped it over the two before sitting on the sofa to wait.

*S*S*

It was much later when Severus woke. Remus glanced up from the newspaper he was reading when he sensed movement. "You look better," he said softly, putting the paper down.

Severus nodded, and stood, still holding his daughter, wrapping her in the blanket. "I'm going to put her to bed," he whispered. "I'll be right back." He carried her into her bedroom, and pulled back the sheets. Tucking her in, he kissed her forehead and brushed her hair back before heading back into the living room.

"So things went alright?" Remus asked, leaning back on the sofa cushions.

"Well enough," Severus sat heavily. "I'm not so naive as to think that this is over, but she's at home in her bed, so we're better off than we were a day ago."

Remus nodded, chewing. "You look more human than a few hours ago."

Severus nodded. "She looked like she hadn't slept. The Weasley boy said that she's been staying up late, and Granger says there was always light in the middle of the night from her bed. She hasn't been eating, either. Undoing all the work I've done to keep her healthy," he ran a hand over his face.

"You've been talking to her friends?"

"She wouldn't talk to me. I was worried. In class, it was a constant stream of 'yes, sir', 'yes, Professor Snape'. I couldn't crack through the wall." Severus shook his head and stood. "I'll wake her for lunch."

"And then what?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrows.

Severus frowned. "And then she will eat."

Remus pressed his lips together and looked away.

"Do you have a problem with how I handled this situation?" Severus narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, actually." Lupin crossed his arms over his chest. "She's a child. She shouldn't have this much power over you."

"She needed space."

"Yes. For about an hour. Then you should have yanked her back in here, explained the situation, and then punished her for her behavior."

"You seriously think punishing her was going to make her listen to me when she was like that?"

Remus sighed. "I don't know, Sev. I'm not a parent. But I hate that she made you turn in on yourself like that. She shouldn't be allowed to do it."

"Well, I haven't been a parent for very long." Severus said, still feeling tired. "But I've known my child long enough to know that she has Lily's temper. No one is going to bring her down from it unless she wants to. Short of body binding her, which I've tried on Lily before, I thought it was best to leave her alone."

"She was devastated that you were letting her get away with it, Sev. You should have seen the relief in her eyes when I didn't give her a choice about whether to come to you or not. She actually has your temper. The uncanny ability to hold a grudge. To top it off, she has your pride, Snape, and she's too young to have learned to put it aside yet. You could have ended this days ago, and that's your job! You should have ended it!"

"I just… I don't know."

"You feel guilty. You let your guilt make you feel like you deserved her speaking to you like that. It's two different issues, Sev. She should have been angry. You were a world-class arse for making the decision you did. But it's your job to teach her how she should handle her anger."

Severus nodded. He knew Remus was right, but his guilt was strong. He knew she felt like she could shout at him because she wasn't afraid of him like she had been of the Dursley's, but maybe a bit of fear wouldn't be out of the question.

"You're a great father, Sev, but if you aren't consistent, you'll never get through the teenage years that are almost on you." He grinned. "You remember how we were in school? She has half your genes. You have to start now, or you're going to have a screaming, nasty teenager."

"How would you know?" Severus ran his hand through his hair.

"Because I had parents, Sev, and I was an only child. And with my… condition… my parents had to walk that line between wanting to give me everything I wanted to make up for it, and raising a child. You can't make up for the last 10 years by caving to guilt." Remus stood. "Anyway, I've said my piece, and I'll never mention it again unless you want me to. But just remember who has to take over if your sorry arse dies, which, may I remind you, is not out of the realm of possibility."

Severus waited until half past noon to wake his daughter. He sat on the edge of her bed, and gently shook her shoulder. "Wake up, Elizabeth."

"Dad?" Elizabeth opened her eyes slowly, squinting in the light.

"You need to eat." He waved his wand and vanished her robes, expecting her usual weekend Muggle jeans and t-shirt. Instead, she was clad in her Gryffindor pajamas. "Did you wake late this morning?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "I was planning on going back to bed. I… haven't been sleeping well lately."

Severus sighed, and pulled her to his chest. "Neither have I. Never again, understand?"

Elizabeth nodded. "I missed you," she said softly.

"I missed you too." Severus kissed the top of her head. "Get dressed and come out. Remus has a sandwich for you."

Elizabeth shook her head sadly. "He hates me."

Severus looked shocked. "He certainly does not. What gave you that idea?"

"He's mad at me. He's never been mad at me…" She bit her lip.

"I would imagine that he was more worried than angry." Severus went to the closet and came back with jeans and a jumper. "He does not hate you."

Elizabeth took the clothes and shrugged, not quite convinced. Severus stepped out to give her privacy. He was standing by the door when the eleven year old shyly poked her head out. She looked warily at Lupin, and Severus rolled his eyes. "Remus, tell your goddaughter that you don't hate her." The few hours of sleep and his daughter's apparent forgiveness had done wonders for his mood.

"Elizabeth?" Remus crossed the room and put his hands on her shoulders. "Of course I don't hate you." He dipped his head to look into her eyes. "I was scared, Elizabeth. Your father was having a rough time, and you were in a downward spiral." He wrapped his arms around her, one hand on her back and the other holding the back of her head.

"You scared me," Elizabeth said, so softly Remus almost didn't hear her, and all the advice he'd given Severus about being tough and inspiring a healthy fear in the girl flew out of his head.

"I'm sorry," Remus said, looking over her head at Severus, who raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. Lupin tried to be stern again, but he'd lost all his strength. "I love you both, very much." He pulled away enough to look into her eyes. "You know that, right?"

Elizabeth nodded, the knot in her stomach easing.


	10. Chapter 10

Halloween came quicker than Elizabeth could imagine. She'd never gone trick-or-treating when she was at the Dursleys, so she wouldn't miss it, but she wasn't sure how the Wizarding World celebrated the day.

The castle was a rush of activity, the result of which was a spectacular scene in the Great Hall for dinner. Severus watched Elizabeth come in the door with the Weasley boy, and wondered where Granger was. She was usually following his daughter and Ron. Elizabeth seemed to be looking for her as well as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.

Elizabeth sat down across from Ron and filled her glass with pumpkin juice. "Hey Parvati," Elizabeth called to the girl a few seats down. "Where's Hermione?"

Parvati threw a glare at Ron. "She's been crying in the girls' bathroom all day because of what the arse said to her this morning."

Ron rolled his eyes, but looked a little embarrassed. "I didn't say it _to_ her, I said it _about _her. And it's true. She has no friends."

Elizabeth sighed and picked out a baked potato. She was deciding how to dress it when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. "Troll— in the dungeons— thought you should know." He fainted before the head table, and all the students erupted into panic. Dumbledore had a difficult time bringing everyone to silence so that he could order all the students back to their dorms. Percy Weasley started to herd them all out of the Hall.

"How could a troll get in?" Elizabeth asked as they walked.

"I dunno. They're supposed to be really stupid. Hey! How about Lizzie?" Ron had been trying to develop a nickname for Elizabeth for the past few days. Elizabeth made a face and shook her head. Clearly Ron wasn't upset about the troll, which calmed her a little. Suddenly a thought hit her.

"Hermione! She doesn't know about the troll."

Ron looked like he was going to protest, but Elizabeth was staring him down as if to say, "This is your fault".

"Oh, all right. But Percy'd better not see us." The two turned and slipped down the hall with the Hufflepuffs towards the girls' bathroom. They pulled free of the group and hurried down an empty corridor until they heard footsteps behind them. Dodging behind a stone figure in the hall they peeked out to find Severus crossing the corridor.

"What's he doing?" Whispered Elizabeth when her father had disappeared. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"

"Search me." Ron shrugged, gesturing for them to follow the Potions Master.

"He's heading for the third floor." Elizabeth had no idea what her father was doing. Shouldn't he be fighting the troll? Not that she wanted him to be in danger, but she had no doubt that he could vanquish a troll. "Maybe we should go see what he's doing." She moved to follow the swirling robes. Suddenly, Ron stopped her.

"Do you smell something?"

Elizabeth sniffed, smelling a foul stench. Then they heard it— a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. They looked down the hall and saw a twelve-foot mountain troll lumbering towards them with a huge wooden club. The troll was poking its head into a doorway down the hall. They watched as it went all the way in.

"I think the key is in the door," Elizabeth whispered. "We could lock it in."

"Good idea," Ron whispered back. They crept toward the door and then lunged, managing to slam the door and lock it.

"Yes!" Running away from the door, high on their success, they heard something that made their hearts stop. A high, piercing scream— coming from the room they'd just locked.

"Oh no," Ron moaned. "It's the girls' bathroom!"

Elizabeth gasped. "Hermione!" She looked in horror at the door, then at the staircase. "I'm going to go get my dad. See if you can open the door and let her out!" She raced up the stairs to the third floor, only to see Fluffy's door open.

Poking her head in, she saw her father and Quirrell, wands drawn, next to a sleeping Fluffy. "Dad?"

Severus whipped around, kicking the harp that was playing by the dog's feet. "Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth wasn't sure why the dog decided to wake up, but it seemed angry when it did. One of its heads snapped at Quirrell, who dodged, and another went for Severus' foot. He pulled away, but not before its teeth caught his ankle. Elizabeth realized she'd never heard her father swear.

Grabbing his daughter by the arm, Severus limped out of the room. "What are you doing?" he growled.

"It's Hermione! She's in the girl's bathroom with the troll!"

Severus looked confused. "What? Why?"

"Dad!" She pulled him towards the stairs. "You have to help!"

The two made it down the stairs to where Ron was still standing in the hall. "She won't come out!"

Severus put the pain in his leg out of his mind. "You two go straight to the Tower. Tell any adult you see to come this way." He threw open the door of the bathroom. "Stupify!" The spell bounced off the back wall harmlessly.

Elizabeth turned to Ron. "Go. I'm staying here in case." Ron shook his head, but she cut him off. "Go! You have to find more help." Elizabeth poked her head inside the door.

Hermione was against the wall, with the troll towering over her. They troll was swinging its club into bathroom stalls.

Severus cast another _Stupify_, hitting his mark this time, but the massive troll was barely fazed. He cast spell after spell, but the troll seemed to have a particular resistance to everything he tried.

Hermione was still cowering against the wall. Elizabeth saw the ugly beast raise its club, and prepared to crush the wizard who was harassing him. Elizabeth reacted without thinking.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" The club flew out of the troll's hand, rose, and fell on the head of its owner. The troll fell, shaking the ground with such force that Severus was thrown to the doorway.

"Is it… dead?" Hermione said from the wall.

"I don't think so," Elizabeth said softly. "I think it's just been knocked out."

Severus pulled himself off the floor and rounded on his daughter. "Don't you dare move," he growled before striding across the room and snatching Hermione up and carrying her out into the corridor. A moment later, McGonagall barged into sight, followed by Professor Quirrell. Quirrell sank against the wall, trembling, immediately.

Severus glared at his daughter, his face turning a purple she'd never seen before. "What the devil were you thinking?" He grabbed her upper arms, picking her up to look him in the eye. "Well?"

McGonagall rounded on Hermione with a similar look in her eyes. "What on earth were you thinking of?" she asked sharply, her face showing unbridled fury. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

"An excellent question," Severus growled, still holding his daughter.

"Dad, put me down."

"I'll put you down when I'm good and ready, young lady. And since I can't trust you to do as you're told, maybe I should keep hold of you all the time!"

"Please Professors, I went looking for the troll because I thought I would deal with it on my own. You know, because I've read all about them." Elizabeth looked at Hermione in surprise. "If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Elizabeth knocked it out with its own club."

Elizabeth groaned as Hermione's explanation made Severus tighten his grip. _Not helpful, Hermione._

"Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?" Hermione hung her head. "Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you're better get off to the tower." Hermione slipped out the door, throwing the other two a fearful glance.

"I still say that you were lucky—

"Don't you even think of rewarding her idiocy, Minerva." Snape glared at her. "We're going to our quarters. Elizabeth will not be returning to the Tower tonight. Come." This command was aimed at his daughter, not that she had a choice since he was still holding her by her arms, even though he'd set her down. As they left, Elizabeth heard McGonagall instructing Quirrell to stop being such a chicken and clean up the mess.

*S*S*

"Dad—

"Silence." The look Severus gave her stopped the apology in her throat. He put her down, but kept a grip on her upper arm. He marched her to their quarters, and after shutting the door, turned her with both hands on her shoulders.

"You're sure that you're alright?" He pulled her robes off and scanned her with his wand, finding a few bruises but nothing more severe. Her uniform showed no sign of trauma.

"I'm fine, Dad, really. I wasn't anywhere near it. It was going to hit you with that club, I had to do something."

Severus shut his eyes for a moment before pulling her over to the couch. "My God, Elizabeth." He felt like his heart was going to give out.

The child put her hand on his head, trying to calm him. "Dad?"

Severus tried to even out his breathing. "Look at me, young lady."

Elizabeth pulled her eyes to his.

"How many times are we going to have to have this conversation?" His voice was low, dangerous. "How many times do I have to remind you that there is NO EXCUSE FOR PUTTING YOURSELF IN DANGER?" His voice rose until Elizabeth swore she could feel the ground shaking beneath her.

"I had to save her, Dad."

"You did not have to save her, Elizabeth Rose. I was taking care of it! For heaven sakes, you shouldn't have even been there! You should have been in your dormitory! You did the right thing, coming to me, but when I tell you to do something, I expect to be obeyed!" He shook his head. "It doesn't seem that I've made myself clear in the past, Elizabeth Rose. I believe we had this conversation not long ago, and tonight I find you in a situation even more dangerous."

He paused, seeing that putting herself in danger was not concerning to Elizabeth in the least, as usual. Pulling out his father-guns, he looked hard at her. "Elizabeth, do you understand how terrified I was when I turned and saw you? When I thought of what could have happened to you?" He watched her start to crumble, and went in for the kill. "Your mother gave her life to protect yours, young lady. How dare you dishonor her that way?" That was the end. Elizabeth was a pool of tears.

"I'm sorry!" She sniffled, looking miserably at her feet. Severus sighed. It wasn't truly the message he wanted to convey. He wanted her to be careful because her life was valuable, not because of how he or Lily would feel.

"I know you are." He handed her a handkerchief. "I can't let this go, Elizabeth, you know that." She nodded, staring at the carpet. Severus cleared his throat. "You are grounded for a week—

"Dad!"

Severus gave her a withering stare. "Be thankful it's not until Christmas." He scolded. "You will have detention with me every day during that time." He gave her another look in case she was tempted to protest. "You will go to meals and class. Other than that you will be here." Elizabeth nodded, resigned.

Severus sighed. "I understand that you wanted to save your friend. But you put yourself in unnecessary danger when you had other options." He set his jaw and glared at his daughter. "I've never been more tempted to give you a good spanking, young lady." He frowned fiercely. "You will curb these ridiculous self-sacrificing habits. If I have to ground you for the rest of your life, I will. If there's danger, you save yourself! You are eleven years old," His glare deepened. "When you are of age, and you want to be a hero, fine. I'll keep the fact that you give me a heart attack on a regular basis to myself. But right now, you are a child, and you will stop thinking that you need to save the world."

Having achieved the remorseful sniffles he was going for, he drew her onto his lap. "Foolish Gryffindor," he scolded gently. "I should lock you in the dungeon."

"We live in the dungeon." Elizabeth said tentatively, through her tears.

"The attic, then." He smirked. They were silent for a long time before Elizabeth spoke again.

"Dad?" Severus shifted her so he could look at her face, raising his eyebrow in response. "You're not… You're not going to ever send me back to the Dursleys, are you?"

"Of course not. Why would you even ask such a thing?" Severus scowled.

"Even if I do reckless things?"

"Even _if_?" Severus teased. "Even _when_ is more like it. Elizabeth, there is nothing you can do that will make me ship you off, understand?" He smirked, "Although I've often thought Durmstrang might teach you some discipline."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and put her face back in his robes. Severus chuckled, and smoothed her hair. He'd never send her to Durmstrang, and she knew it. He'd hardly know what to do with her so far away. Besides, he'd become all too acquainted with Igor Karkaroff from Death Eater meetings. There was no chance that he'd let the man anywhere near his daughter.

"Will you really stop telling me not to do dangerous stuff when I'm older?"

"Not a chance," Severus said. "I'm not sure what I was thinking when I said that." He hugged her tighter. "You'll be 85, and if you fight another troll, I will come back from the dead with a sink full of cauldrons and a wire brush."

Elizabeth shifted, "You're mean."

"So I've been told." Severus patted her leg. "Think of it next time you're tempted to disobey me."

Elizabeth sat back. "Dad?" Severus raised an eyebrow. "Can I eat? I mean, I didn't really—

"Elizabeth Snape, have I ever sent you to bed without dinner?"

"No, sir."

"I'll call for food. I wasn't able to eat either." He set her on the floor. "Go wash your face and change into your pajamas. You're going to bed as soon as you eat."

"Dad! It's only nine!"

"Eat, and then straight to bed," Severus said, unwavering.

In a few minutes, Elizabeth was sitting at the table, thinking that it was strange that after defeating a troll and dealing with her father's wrath, her biggest problem was still deciding what she wanted on her potato.

A knock at the door pulled her away from her thoughts. "Dad?" Elizabeth called towards the bedroom where Severus had disappeared moments before.

"It's probably your Grandfather. I can't imagine that he'd miss the opportunity to reward you for something foolish." He came out of the bedroom and opened the door. Sure enough, Albus stood, bright purple robes glittering with shooting stars. "Don't you dare congratulate her."

"For her services to the school and her friends? Why wouldn't I, Severus?" He pushed past his son and made a beeline for his granddaughter. "My little hero," he said, pulling her into a hug. "Don't listen to your father, he's blinded by fear."

"Dottering old man," Severus muttered.

"Oh be quiet, Severus. Lemondrop?" He offered one from his pocket.

"I'm sorry, Professor."

Albus looked confused. "For what?"

"Um…" Elizabeth looked at her father, who shook his head.

"Elizabeth has had an eventful evening. She needs food and sleep. You can fawn over her in the morning, if you must." It was times like this when Elizabeth saw what Severus was to everyone else. Commanding. Hard. Detached. The thought that he might be that way with her made her shudder. Severus put his hand on her shoulder. "I trust I don't need to walk you out?"

"Alright, Severus, no need to be sharp." Dumbledore hummed to himself and popped a lemondrop. "Goodnight." He stepped back through the door.

Elizabeth was quiet, eating her dinner and then going, uncomplaining, into her bedroom. Severus followed, pulling back the covers while Elizabeth brushed her teeth. "What are you thinking about?" He asked his silent daughter.

"Professor Dumbledore isn't mad at me."

Severus motioned for her to lie down so he could pull the blankets up to her chin. "No, he isn't." He tucked the covers tightly around her, biding his time to determine what turn the conversation was going to take.

"You were angry."

Severus nodded. "Yes."

Elizabeth snuggled into the bed, a look on her face that said very clearly to Severus that she was troubled. He brushed back her hair, doing his best not to look at the scar. He took off her glasses and put them on the bedside table.

"You always say that you worry because you love me."

Severus nodded, and waited for the rest.

She studied the blankets. "What does it mean that Dumbledore was happy?"

Severus sighed again, and patted her hip through the blankets. How do you explain to a child the nuances of such a complicated man? _She's not old enough to understand_, Severus thought. _I'm not sure I am._

"Your grandfather is a true Gryffindor, Rosie. He believes in self-sacrifice." He bent to kiss her forehead. "And he didn't have to see you beside that massive thing." He stood. "Go to sleep. I'll wake you for breakfast in the morning." He left the room, leaving the door ajar, knowing that Elizabeth's already nightmare-prone sleep was likely to be interrupted by trolls.

Sitting on the sofa, he leaned back and closed his eyes. He loved Minerva, just as much as he had his biological mother. But Albus had always been a kind of a… stepfather, at best. Albus had always been supportive of his son… if Severus' actions fit in with the overarching plan he had for the world.

When he was 13, he'd worshiped the old man. He was an adult male who wanted him. He spent time with him, cared about how he did at school. Best of all, Albus celebrated his magic. Severus craved the approval of the men in his life, and there weren't many. Tobias had done nothing but tear him down for the first 13 years of his life. There had been the occasional teacher in grammar school, but they pitied more than supported him.

When he'd arrived at Hogwarts, there were older Slytherin boys. Lucius and company topped the list of rich and powerful. Minerva was horrified by the way Severus followed the older boy like a puppy. When Lucius graduated, Severus continued to follow the crowd that the future Death Eater left behind.

While Minerva spent much of her time trying to keep her son away from the bad element of the Slytherins, Albus did nothing to stand in his way. Severus had often wondered, as the years had passed, why exactly that was. Albus Dumbledore, as solidly on the side of the Light as anyone, not having a problem with his son's fraternization with the Dark was suspect. When he was so far imbedded into it, Severus could see nothing. Even recently, he'd still seen his step into Darkness as the ultimate disrespect of the man he called 'Father'.

But sitting on his sofa that evening, he started to wonder. Was it really so odd that Albus hadn't censored his friendships? Aside from Remus, Albus had never encouraged him to look outside his house for friends. He'd always expected obedience from his son, was always strict with him about where he went and what he did. Severus had always wanted his approval, and so he'd been obedient, most of the time.

His mind wandered, playing over in his mind the way Albus had covered his memory of Lily. He'd taken Severus back so far into the past, spent a lot of time constructing memories. He'd taken his son into a time in his life when he was already precarious, and then took away all his friends aside from the Slytherins. Was that necessary? If he'd had Remus… or at least known that Lily had forgiven him… things might have been different.

Albus had accepted him so readily when he'd come to Hogwarts, the Mark still fresh on his forearm. He had a plan… a plan for Severus to spy, without even skipping a beat. And when Lily was killed, Albus could have brought his daughter back. She was in danger no matter what. He could have kept her safe at Hogwarts.

Severus suspected Albus' meddling had reached a new level. He'd needed a spy, and… Severus hated to even think about it. Had the old man planned the whole thing?

Severus shook his head to clear it. Of course not. There was no grand plan.

But the way the man had accepted that his precious granddaughter had fought a mountain troll…

Severus was pulled out of his thoughts by sounds of distress from Elizabeth's room. Pushing aside his musing, he stood, ready to vanquish dream trolls.


	11. Chapter 11

Severus Snape was an idiot. He hadn't realized it until a few days later when he read his staff calendar and saw that the first Quidditch game was scheduled for the first Friday in November. Right in the middle of the week of grounding that he'd levied on his daughter. The youngest Seeker in a century.

He'd been looking forward to the game, almost as much as she had. He didn't care that the Slytherin- Gryffindor match would create some challenging cheering problems for him. Luckily, Professor Snape did not cheer. He clapped politely for a job well done, and he supposed that he could do that for both Slytherin players and his daughter.

He couldn't let her play. Of course he couldn't. She was grounded. She'd endangered her life, willfully disobeyed Dumbledore and himself, and broken at least a dozen school rules. She'd forced his hand. She had to be grounded. It wouldn't be a punishment if she didn't miss out on some thing that she wanted to do. Too bad it felt like more of a punishment for him.

He remembered thinking that Albus felt some kind of righteous superiority when he upheld a punishment, like the time, during his sixth year, that Albus had grounded him for a month for going down the tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow. Potter, in a gesture that Severus had never understood, had stopped him before reaching Remus, transformed into his other form. Severus hadn't known about Lupin's condition until then, and had desperately wanted to talk to his friend, but Albus had held firm that he would venture from his room for only meals and classes. He'd had to wait one horrible weekend until he could tell the other boy that he would do anything he could to help. He'd spent the entire month researching potions that could reverse the affliction.

Now he knew that keeping him under lock and key was probably not Albus' favorite thing. He wanted nothing more now than to ask his father for parenting advice, but the pride that Remus had pointed out to him on more than one occasion was standing in the way. She hadn't asked him to let her play. It was unnerving that she hadn't questioned him. Any excuse for letting her play sounded hollow. He knew he was being soft. He needed to talk to Minerva.

"Jelly Beans," Severus said at the staircase, rolling his eyes.

"Severus?" Albus poked his head out of his living space when he heard movement in the office. "Is everything alright?"

Severus made a mental note to come to see his parents more often. Clearly he didn't do it enough if Albus feared some kind of emergency upon seeing him. "Everything's fine, Father. I just need to speak to Mum."

"Well come in then," Albus opened the portrait wider and waved his son through. "What's on your mind?"

Severus sat heavily in a chair in the living room.

"Albus? Was there someone out there?" Minerva's voice came from her bedroom.

"It's Severus," Albus called.

"Is everything alright?"

Severus rolled his eyes again. "I'm fine, Mother."

Minerva came out into the room and sat, smoothing her robes. "Sit down, Albus."

"I think I'm making a mistake." Severus forced the words out of his mouth, and got exactly the reaction he'd feared.

"And you came to us?" Minerva moved to put her arm around her son.

"What is it?" Albus didn't seem quite as confused. It was not the first time Severus had come to him.

Severus took a deep breath. "After the troll incident, I grounded Elizabeth for a week."

"As well you should have," Minerva said sternly. "That child cannot put herself in danger like that. I don't care that it was an incredible show of Gryffindor bravery."

Severus rolled his eyes. "You were prepared to give her points." He sighed. "The problem is, her first Quidditch game is Friday."

"And?" Minerva narrowed her eyes.

"And I don't want her to miss it."

"It wouldn't be a punishment if she didn't miss something," Minverva said firmly. _I knew I'd heard that somewhere,_ Severus thought. "It's not easy, Sev, but she disobeyed you, and she put herself in a dangerous situation that very well could have been fatal."

"Frankly, Severus, if her father wasn't here at school, I could have suspended her from the Quidditch team for that stunt. I didn't take any action as her Head of House because you were here to deal with her."

"You would never have suspended your star Seeker, mother. You would have given her a medal."

"I certainly will suspend my_ granddaughter_ if you go back on her punishment." She looked sternly at her son. "There will be other games, Severus."

*S*S*

Friday evening, Severus knocked on Elizabeth's bedroom door. Walking in, he saw her lying on her bed, reading her History of Magic text.

"History of Magic?" Severus sat on the edge of the bed. "You must be desperate for study material." He brushed the hair off her forehead. "I'll be back in a couple of hours. Is there anything I can get the prisoner?"

She shook her head. "No, sir. I'm going to finish this and go to bed."

"Alright." He kissed the top of her head. "I'll look in on you when I get back." As he walked away, Elizabeth caught sight of his ankle under his robe.

"Dad!"

He turned back. "What's wrong?"

"I thought you had Madam Pomfrey look at your ankle?"

Severus shook his head. "I did, but magical animal bites are difficult. It's just going to have to heal on its own."

Elizabeth watched him leave, and curled up on her side. She was devastated that she wasn't playing, that she'd let her team down, but she knew better than to ask Severus if she could play. She'd tried to take her punishment gracefully, hoping that at the end of her week, Severus would let her out. She'd once been grounded for 6 months at the Dursleys, because every time her sentence was almost up, her relatives had found another reason not to feed her, or to make her do extra chores.

She'd put away her text and changed into her pajamas when there was a knock on the door. Opening the portrait, she found herself face to face with her Defense professor.

"Professor Quirrell?" Elizabeth could think of no reason why Quirrell would be at her door.

"Your ff-father said that you mm-might be interested in ss-some extra cc-credit in mm-my cc-class, mm-Miss Evans." Elizabeth looked questioningly at him. Severus thought the idea of extra credit was ridiculous. He always said that students should complete the regular credit, and then they wouldn't need extra.

"No, thank you, sir." She tried to close the portrait, but he blocked it with his foot.

"Tt-that's nn-not vv-very ss-studious of you, mm-Miss Evans." He forced his way into the room and backed her against the wall near the door. Elizabeth felt her scar burn, like it sometimes did in class. The pain was so bad that she had to close her eyes. "I'm sure your father would want you to come with me." The pain in her head kept her from realizing his stutter had stopped.

"No, sir." She tried to back away, but she tripped over the leg of a chair and fell to the dungeon floor.

"What is going on here?" Severus' voice cut through her fear-fogged mind. She felt him lift her up. "Quirrell? What are you doing here?"

"I cc-came bb-by tt-to tt-talk about your dd-daughter's gg-grade," Quirrell said. "Ss-she ss-seemed a bb-bit dd-distrubed."

Severus didn't believe that for a minute, but he had to tend to his daughter. "Thank you, Quirrell. Leave us, please." When the other professor was gone, Severus carried Elizabeth back into her bedroom and laid her on the bed.

"How did you know I needed you?" She asked, pressing the heel of her hand against her throbbing scar.

"I charmed the door so I'd know if it opened. I thought you might try to come to the game."

"I'm grounded, Dad."

"I know," Severus used his wand to scan her for injuries. "You've been perfect. I was just being paranoid. I suppose it helped, though." He looked at the parchment from the diagnostic spell. "What's wrong with your head?"

"My scar… it hurts sometimes."

"How often is sometimes?" Severus sat on the edge of the bed.

"Couple times a week."

Severus gently pulled her hand away to look at the scar. Summoning a pain relieving cream, he used his long cold fingers to spread it on the angry red scar. "Does it ache?"

"More of a burn." She relaxed as the pain faded.

"Elizabeth, I need you to tell me exactly what happened tonight." He listened to her story, stroking her hair while she talked. When she was finished, he gritted his teeth. "I don't want you to open the door when I'm not here again."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not angry with you," he assured as he pulled the blankets over her. "Go to sleep now. I'll be here." She rolled over on her stomach, and he rubbed her back until he heard her breathing even out. Then he pulled the armchair in the corner over to the side of the bed and sat down, settling in for the night.

*S*S*

Severus Snape would never be mistaken for a patient man. He'd somehow managed patience for his daughter on occasion, but he had none of the same feeling for Quirinus Quirrell. Severus hadn't had much sleep the night before, partly because he had been sleeping in an armchair instead of a bed, a position he'd been frequenting in the past few months, and partly because Elizabeth had woken twice from a nightmare she wouldn't explain. She'd been having nightmares all weekend, and Severus was mystified as to how to calm her.

Robes billowing, he stalked down the corridor toward Quirrell's office after sending his child to breakfast. He wanted to be absolutely alone with the man, and during a meal was the easiest time to assure that. Quirrell looked up when he came in. "pp-Professor ss-Snape, What a pp-pleasant—

"Save the theatrics, Quirrell, and dispose with the affected speech." Snape kept his hand on his wand. "I don't know what game you are playing, but you will leave my daughter out of whatever hackneyed plan you're working on."

"Severus, I was only attempting—

"I couldn't care less. You need to look closely at your loyalties, Quirrell. The Dark Lord is dead. I don't know what you want with the Stone, or why you think my daughter could help you, but let me be clear. You should watch your back, because I will be watching you." He turned on his heel and strode back down the corridor.

*S*S*

Ron took a sip of pumpkin juice Monday morning. "Lissy… do you think it's possible…"

"First of all," Elizabeth held up one finger, "_not_ Lissy." Ron was still insistent on a nickname. He'd decided that "Elizabeth" was too long of a name, and she needed it shortened. Elizabeth, however, had rejected the traditional "Beth".

"I told you, Ron," Hermione chirped. "If she didn't go for "Lizzie", she wouldn't go for "Lissy."'

"What were you going to say, Ron?"

"We were talking last night…Hermione and I," he looked nervous. "Do you think that your dad might be trying… I don't know… to get whatever Fluffy is guarding?"

Elizabeth frowned. "He's a Professor. If he wanted it, couldn't he just go get it? I mean, couldn't he just ask Dumbledore?"

"When are you going to stop calling him that?" Hermione asked.

"What?"

"I mean, you've call McGonagall "Grandma" sometimes, but we ran into Professor Dumbledore in the hallway the other day and you called him "Headmaster"."

"He _is_ the Headmaster."

"That I am." Dumbledore's voice rumbled behind them. "Elizabeth, I'd like to see you in my office after breakfast, please."

"I have Transfiguration this morning, sir." Elizabeth said uneasily.

"I will inform Professor McGonagall of your absence. You know the password."

*S*S*

"JuJuBes" Elizabeth said to the stairs, once Hermione and Ron had gone on to class. When she reached the office, she found Albus sitting behind his desk, and Severus sitting in one of the chairs in front.

"Sit, my dear." Albus gestured to the seat beside his son. "Lemondrop?"

"No. Thank you, sir."

"So much like your father," Dumbledore shook his head.

"Am I in trouble?"

"Did you do something I don't know about?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"No."

"Well, then, I would imagine you aren't in trouble." Severus smirked. "I told your grandfather what happened last night while I was at the Quidditch game."

"Elizabeth, did Professor Quirrell threaten you in any way?" Albus leaned towards her over the desk.

"Not really, sir. I mean, he didn't say anything threatening…"

"But you were frightened."

"Yes, sir. He was very insistent that I come with him. He said that Dad wanted me to do some extra credit."

"And you didn't believe him?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Dad hates extra credit. He thinks it's stupid."

Severus snorted. "I'm not sure that is the word I'd use, but the sentiment is right."

Albus leaned back in his chair. "Severus, I think we should give this some time."

"That man tried to attack her! I want her out of that class."

Elizabeth looked from her father to Albus and back. "Out of class? But you said Defense is important. Especially for me…"

"It is important. You will come to my office during your Defense period and I will tutor you." He glared at his father, daring the old man to challenge him. When he was met with no resistance, Severus stood. "I'll walk you to Transfiguration. When it's time for Defense, meet me in my office."

*S*S*

Elizabeth found that her father was even more driven a Defense professor than he was a Potions Master. He'd always made a point to avoid doing anything connected with Potions class at home besides reminding her to study, or tutoring her over a potion she'd ruined. But Defense was a constant onslaught of quizzing. She'd read and been questioned over the text in a month. As snow began to fall on Hogwarts, he'd moved to practical, practicing spells until she felt like her arm would fall off.

The second week in December, Minerva walked the tables at breakfast, asking for names of students staying at Hogwarts for the Christmas Holidays.

"I'm staying," Ron said around his mouthful of waffles. "Mum and Dad are going to visit Charlie, so the rest of us are staying here."

"I'm going home," Hermione said, using her wand to fill her glass.

"I…" Elizabeth looked at her grandmother. "I don't know, Dad hasn't said."

"He often stays here, but you can ask him and let me know. Or I could speak to him." Minerva scribbled something on the parchment.

"No, I'll ask. I have Defense this morning."

*S*S*

When she arrived at his office, she started to remove her robes as usual. "Not today," he said from behind his desk. "Today you practice casting with robes on."

"They're distracting, Dad. They get in the way."

"Is it not possible that you would be attacked while wearing robes, Elizabeth?"

"Yes, sir." Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"And would it be reasonable to assume that an attacking wizard or witch would not give you the time to remove your robes?" The incident with Quirrell had shaken him to his core. She had to be able to defend herself against the forces that were so obviously against her. He reminded himself that she was not even close to her 12th birthday, but that just frightened him more.

"Dad?"

"_Expelliarmus_!" Severus disarmed her calmly. "Yes?"

"DAD!"

"You must always be ready."

"Okay…" Elizabeth let her Snape-given sarcasm leak into her voice, crossing her arms over her chest. "But Grandma was asking about who will be staying here over the Holiday this morning." She picked up her wand. "She says you sometimes stay here, but I'm supposed to ask you and let her know."

"It is my year to stay here and oversee students who are staying behind Your grandparents are going to go to their home, but I'll make sure they come back for Christmas."

"Okay." She straightened her robes. "Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Expelliarmus!" Snape's wand nearly flew from his hand. His daughter smirked.

"Not bad, my little lion," Severus praised. "You might have had me, except you have to stop narrowing your eyes before you cast. It's a tell. A bad poker face."

"I was focusing."

Severus frowned. "Focusing or squinting?" He picked up a book from the desk. "Stay right there. What does this say?"

Elizabeth squinted, and read the main title, but couldn't read the author's name.

"We're going to go see Poppy and have her look at your eyes."

"Dad, they're fine."

"They are most certainly not 'fine'. Let's go."

An hour later, Elizabeth Evans was the owner of a new pair of glasses. "Everything is so clear!" She said excitedly as Severus walked with her back to their quarters.

Severus stopped in the middle of the corridor and leaned down. "Elizabeth, is this why you have trouble with directions in Potions? Because you can't see the board? Why didn't you tell me?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "I had glasses. I thought my eyes were as good as they were going to get."

"What you were wearing could only charitably be described as glasses. I'd guess Petunia bought them at the dollar store to satisfy your school's mandate." He put his hands on her shoulders. "You need to tell me if these glasses start to fail. Eyes can change over time, and you will most definitely need new ones in a year or so." He straightened.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"If we're staying here for the holiday, can I ask you for a favor?"

"You are staying in our rooms, but you may have Mr. Weasley over for tea during the day if you wish."

"Thank you, but that wasn't it."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "A favor that does not have to do with your boyfriend?"

"DAD!"

Severus smirked and gestured for her to continue.

"Can we not have Defense lessons? Please?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "I suppose, since it is a holiday, that I could refrain from forcing you to read or learn. But don't expect to be so lucky during the summer."

"Thank you, Dad." She wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her forehead into his waistcoat.

"You're most welcome," Severus said quietly, knowing that they were no longer talking about a homework-free holiday.


	12. Chapter 12

The end of term came quickly and with little incident. Elizabeth had been spending much of her time with Ron and Hermione down at Hagrid's hut. It was by far the most interesting place to be, especially shortly before the Holidays started.

*S*S*

"_What is that?" Ron asked, pointing at the huge egg in the fire._

"_Dragon egg. Got it off a guy at the Leaky Cauldron in a poker game." Hagrid handed them all scones hard enough to break their teeth. "It'll hatch soon, maybe after the holidays. Now what brings you three here on this snowy day?"_

"_We were in the library," Hermione said, dunking her scone in tea to try to soften it. "We were looking for information about Nicolas Flamel."_

"_What would you want with information about him?" Hagrid looked uneasy._

"_We think he has something to do with Fluffy."_

"_You three aught to stay away from him." He pointed a finger at Elizabeth. "Your grandfather made it very clear that no one was supposed to go down that corridor."_

*S*S*

Of course, all Hagrid's discomfort did was confirm that they were close to the truth. They'd gotten the Flamel idea from him anyway, during one of his awkward stumblings to avoid talking about Fluffy.

"Since you'll both be here," Hermione said over breakfast the first morning of the holiday, "You can look in the library for information about Nicholas Flamel."

"We've looked everywhere," Elizabeth protested.

"Not in the restricted section." Hermione finished her breakfast and headed out with the rest of the students to the train.

"Happy Christmas to us," Elizabeth mumbled into her eggs.

"Cheers, Mate." Ron said, drinking the last of his pumpkin juice.

*S*S*

Severus looked at his mother, who was sitting at one end of the sofa, almost jumping out of her skin. "Aren't children supposed to be up early on Christmas?" She asked. "The noise from my common room when I flooed in this morning was deafening."

Albus was eyeing the presents under the tree, then turned to his son with a look of realization. "Is it possible that your child has no idea what happens on Christmas morning? From what you've told me, she probably didn't have a happy Christmas."

Severus could have slapped himself in the head. Of course she didn't wake early on Christmas. But didn't she know that things would be different here? Apparently not.

"I'll be back." Severus went into Elizabeth's room to find his daughter fast asleep. He sat on the bed and shook her shoulder. "Elizabeth, wake up." She groaned and rolled over, but didn't wake. "Come on, lion, it's Christmas."

"Ten minutes."

Severus smirked. "I think you are supposed to ask for five more minutes. At least that's what is on the Muggle programs." He pulled her blankets back and shook her again. "Let's go, sleepy. Your grandfather is going to unwrap all your presents if you don't hurry."

"Not allowed to come out on Christmas." Elizabeth mumbled sleepily. "It's a family day."

Severus really was going to kill the Dursleys, just as soon as he could figure out how to get away with it. "Elizabeth, wake all the way up." He pulled the warm child out of bed and onto his lap. "It is a family day, my girl, which is why you need to wake up and come be with yours." Her face was buried in his the long sleeved T-shirt he'd put on that morning, and so he didn't understand the first mumble he heard.

"What did you say?" He set her away from him slightly.

"Is Professor Dumbledore out there?"

Severus sighed. "Yes. Although how you can put up with a whole dorm of screaming first years but still be afraid of your grandfather, I don't know." He helped her put on her glasses. "Come on, let's see what your grandmother decided fell under the category of 'practical gifts'."

He led her out and sat her on the sofa beside Minerva. "Happy Christmas," McGonagall wrapped her arms around the child. "Sleepy this morning?"

Elizabeth nodded and looked at Albus.

"We were waiting for you. It's present time!"

"Dad?" She looked at Severus who was sitting next to her. "Do we have breakfast on Christmas?"

Severus chuckled. "Let your grandfather play Santa Claus, and I'll order some food."

Soon, Elizabeth was surrounded by muffins, scones, and several bright colored packages. Albus was encouraging her to open one when a knock on the door revealed Remus.

"Elizabeth! I expected to see you covered in ribbons by now!" He settled the packages he was carrying on the coffee table.

"We've had a slow morning," Severus said. "Have a seat, we're staring at a terrified child right now, if you care to join."

"I'm not terrified, I'm overwhelmed."

"Where did you learn words like 'overwhelmed'?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Hermione."

"Open your gifts." Severus pushed one towards her. Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth prepared to unwrap her very first Christmas gift.

*S*S*

Severus smirked at his parents' characteristic overdoing of the holiday. He remembered his first Christmas after the adoption. He'd had presents before, his mother had always found a way, even though they had little money, but he'd never had gifts like Albus and Minerva had given him. Elizabeth seemed particularly taken with the miniature solar system Minerva had chosen, watching it turn in its globe until Remus lost his patience and pushed another gift into her hands. The adults in the room seemed to be the only ones acting like 11 year olds.

She was also distracted by the magical camera Severus had bought, taking pictures of everyone in the room and marveling at the moving photos that were produced. It led to a conversation about the difference between portraits and pictures, and another episode of frustrated Lupin handing her another gift.

"You could open something too," Elizabeth said as she unwrapped a sweater with a big "E" on it from Mrs. Weasley. She held it up for her father, who rolled his eyes before announcing that she would write a thank you note the next day. She put the sweater down and went back into her bedroom, appearing again with four presents in her arms. "Here. Now everyone can stop staring at me."

She should have known that they would not be distracted. They watched as she unwrapped the wizarding chess set from Albus. The pieces were delicate, silver and gold, crystal accents. "That belonged to my mother," Albus said softly.

"Thank you," Elizabeth managed a smile as she fingered the pieces.

From Remus, there was a box of photos of Lily and Severus as children. "Lily left these with me before she died," he said. "Some more I saved from your father's childish burning spree he went on after Lily "married" James." He looked at Severus who was looking over Elizabeth's shoulder. "I'm sorry, mate, I just knew you didn't really want to destroy them." Severus was quiet, but he put his arm around his daughter and watched with a look that could only be reverence as she looked through the photos.

"You were cute, Dad." Elizabeth grinned.

"I have never been 'cute', young lady." Severus found his voice again in the teasing. "And I never want to see you doing that particular stunt on your broom. At least until I'm dead and gone and can't have a heart attack." He pointed at a photo of a young Severus flipping upside-down and then letting go of the broom before grabbing it again at the last second.

"You have one more present," Albus handed her the last gift.

Elizabeth set the box of photos aside carefully, and unwrapped the gift Albus had handed her. As the paper fell away, Severus drew in a sharp breath. "Father!"

Elizabeth pulled what seemed to be a large piece of strange fabric from the package. She looked down at the fabric and dropped it suddenly when she realized that it had vanished her lap. She looked questioningly at Albus, who was carefully avoiding his son's glare. "It's an invisibility cloak. James Potter left it in my possession before he died, and I thought, since he had no children, that you should have it."

"Father! How could you give something like that to a child?"

Elizabeth looked from her father to Albus, eyes wide.

"It's perfectly safe, Severus."

"Perfectly safe until she falls asleep under it and we don't find her! Perfectly safe until she wanders into something she shouldn't! Any place you have to be invisible is a place were there's trouble!"

"Don't worry so, Sev."

"I'll worry however much I please, you crazy old man!"

Remus looked at Elizabeth's frantic expression. "Professors! You aren't alone right now."

Severus turned to his daughter, and seeing her face, put his arms around her. "We didn't mean to shout." He fingered the cloak. "I was just startled. There are very few of these cloaks in the world, and it is hardly a toy."

"I don't have to have it…" she looked up at him. "If you don't want me to."

Severus sighed. "It's not that. But you need to use it responsibly, understand? You may have it, but if you start using it to cause trouble, I'll keep it for you until you're of age."

*S*S*

"Student out of bed!" Filch's voice would have caused Invisible-Elizabeth to run down the corridor if the screaming book hadn't. She almost tripped over Mrs. Norris before almost throwing herself into the first room she found. Closing the door behind her, she cast lumos to look around, hoping not to find a multi-headed anything. It looked like a storage room. Upon closer examination, she discovered a huge mirror.

Stepping in front of the mirror, she whirled around, heart pounding, expecting to see her father standing behind her. Seeing, nothing, she turned back to the mirror, and then back around several times until she finally managed to convince herself that the Severus she saw in the mirror was not actually there with her.

Under closer scrutiny, there was something different about Mirror-Severus. He was… lighter, somehow. Happy. The man in the mirror put his arm around her shoulder, looking at her with pride. She was wearing a head girl badge. The Severus in the mirror was smiling, not smirking, but easily smiling.

She looked for a long time, thinking about going to get Ron. But in the end she decided that this was a Severus she wanted to keep for herself.

*S*S*

The next night she slipped out again and went back, sitting in front of the mirror.

On the third night, she was watching Mirror-Severus and herself when a voice broke her concentration.

"So— This is where you've been disappearing to, my explorer." She spun around to see Severus, sitting on a desk against the wall.

"I— I didn't see you, Dad."

"Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you." He slipped off the desk to sit beside her on the floor. "So this is what you call responsible use of your cloak?"

Elizabeth blushed. "I just… I don't know."

Severus sighed. "You have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."

"I didn't know what it was called."

"But I expect you've realized by now that it does?"

"It… it shows…" She trailed off.

"What, Rosie?" Severus put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him.

Elizabeth laid her head against his shoulder. "You and me." She said softly. "You are really happy." She snuck a look at his face.

"What makes you think I'm not happy now?" Severus asked, just as softly.

"You weren't worrying or concerned. You were happy and proud of me…"

He shifted her to see her face. "You, my girl, make me so proud." He pulled her closer and rocked her back and forth. "You have your mother's heart, you know. And your Grandma Evans' mothering instinct."

"Mothering? I'm 11."

"How you always worry that I'm worried? That screams the first Elizabeth Evans." He smoothed her hair with his free hand. "She would have loved to have seen you grow up. She used to tell Lily that she needed to hurry up and give her a grandchild to spoil."

Elizabeth smiled shyly. "Professor Dumbledore says that I got your mind and your temper."

Severus smirked. "I can't take all the credit for your brain, because your mother was an exceedingly bright witch. And I'd love to blame your temper on her, but Albus is probably right. Lily's temper would spark hot and burn itself out quickly, but yours and mine…" he grimaced. "I seem to have passed on the ability to find a person's weak spot, stick your knife in, and twist." He smiled as she tucked her head under his chin. "That trait would have served you well in Slytherin, I have to say." He took a deep breath and pressed his lips together briefly. "However, your stealth wouldn't, since you seem to get caught every time you sneak out."

She ducked her head. "I'm sorry, Dad."

"About what?" Severus asked evenly, quirking an eyebrow.

"I know I'm not supposed to use the cloak to play around, but I had to look up something for Hermione, and then I found the mirror… and then I just really wanted to see it again."

"What could you possibly need to look up for Miss Granger?"

"Just stuff."

"Stuff?" Severus smirked. "Could it have been a thesaurus?" She blushed again. "So you were almost caught in the library, rest assured that we'll deal with the sneaking out later, and you ran across the Mirror."

"Yes, sir."

"Can you think what the mirror of Erised shows us all?" Severus asked, ever the teacher. When she shook her head, he went on. "Let me give you a hint. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror like a normal mirror. He would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?"

"It shows us what we want? Whatever we want?"

"Yes and no," Severus pulled her tighter as if trying to shield her from a cold wind. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never had someone to be proud of you see me feeling that way because you don't quite believe yet that I _am_ proud of you." She opened her mouth to object, but he waved her into silence.

"I don't blame you. It's my fault for being out of your life for so long." He smoothed her hair. "You, my lion, are so attuned to the feelings of others, so you see me the way you wish I was all the time, outwardly happy. But know this," He looked into her eyes, "there is nothing in the world that makes me happier than you. You needn't worry that being your father gives me one moment of sadness."

Elizabeth nodded, tears pricking her eyes. "But it's not the future?"

"The mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible." He stood and helped her to her feet.

"Your grandfather is going to move the Mirror tomorrow, Elizabeth. I don't want you to go looking for it again. It doesn't do to dwell on dreams." Severus picked up the invisibility cloak from where it lay on the floor. "Let's get you back to bed. And in the morning you can explain to me why you were in the library to begin with." He gave her a pointed look and caused her to squirm before leading her back to their quarters.

*S*S*

"Dad?" Elizabeth stood in her doorway, eyeing him sleepily. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

Severus, sitting behind his desk, raised an eyebrow. "Do I, by chance, look like an alarm clock?" He crooked a finger at his child. "I thought I'd let you sleep in," he said when she reached his side. He pushed his chair away from the desk and sat her on his knee. "So. Is there anything you'd like to share with me? Perhaps about wandering the halls at night?"

"I didn't know the books would scream." Elizabeth leaned her forehead against his shoulder.

"What were you looking for?" Severus tightened his arms around her waist as he felt her stiffen. "Just relax." He rubbed her back. "Do I look angry?"

She looked quickly at his face, then shook her head into his chest. His robe was open, his black potions jacket felt warm against her cheek. "We're looking for information about Nicholas Flamel."

Severus was careful to not react with anything but calm. "Interested in Alchemy, are you?"

Elizabeth shrugged.

"Elizabeth, I'm perfectly willing to sit here and play twenty questions with you, but if it's going to be a very long game, I'm going to need tea."

"We think it has something to do with what Fluffy is hiding," Elizabeth said softly. She was tired of keeping the whole story a secret. At least whatever punishment he gave her would be over soon, and he was unlikely to kill her like Fluffy might.

"Fluffy?"

"Hagrid's dog," Elizabeth mumbled into her lap. "The one with three heads."

"I'm going to need some tea," Severus sighed. _And maybe some firewhiskey._ "Let's move this to the sofa. You need to eat some breakfast, and I need to have something in my hands other than your neck when you tell me how you know that monster's name…and anything else associated with… _Fluffy._"

*S*S*

"Let me make sure I have this perfectly clear," Severus said tightly, gripping his teacup. "You accepted a duel, with a child who has been around magic his whole life, who is the son of a man who uses Dark magic a dozen times before breakfast. However, you did not actually participate in this duel, but instead ended up in the only section of this castle expressly forbidden by your Grandfather and myself. Which, I suppose, explains your lack of surprise when you found me there on Halloween, or how you knew to look there to begin with."

He scowled. "Then, you and your dunderheaded friends decided it was your business to find out why an incredibly dangerous creature you'd found in this forbidden area was in the castle. In pursuit of this, you ended up sneaking out, into the restricted section of the library, were almost caught, and found yet another dangerous object which you continue to seek out for two more nights, using the cloak I expressly forbid you to use for trouble. Did I leave anything out?"

_Hagrid has a dragon egg_, Elizabeth thought, but she didn't want to get the half-giant in trouble. "No, sir."

Severus rubbed a hand over his face. "Look very hard at my hair, Elizabeth. Is it gray yet?"

Elizabeth took the toast he handed her and took a bite, assuming that the question was rhetorical.

Severus sat back on the sofa and pondered his daughter's adventures.

"Dad?" Elizabeth had eaten her toast and was looking at him. He silently opened his arms and she climbed into them.

"You, my child, are going to be the death of me. I can't imagine living to age 40, with you taking 10 years off my life every few days."

"I'm sorry." Elizabeth grimaced.

"You should be. Taking my life like that." Severus sighed. He'd done that more since he'd met his daughter than ever before.

"Do you know what the dog is hiding?"

Severus smirked. "Of course I do. But I think I'll let you work that out on your own." He smirked at her groan. "I'll give you a hint, however. The book you need is not in the Restricted Section. So stay out. Clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"And next time you're out after curfew, cloak or no, it's going to be mine until you turn of age."

"Yes, sir."

"And the item hidden in this castle is not something you should try to retrieve. It is very well protected, and it will stay that way."

"Yes, sir."

"Now go get dressed while I try to determine how long you are going to be grounded." He set her on her feet. "I'm going to have to look up the formula for restriction. I believe there is a variable for how many years removed from your father's life."

"Yes, sir." Elizabeth hurried back to her room and shower and dress. She wasn't at all fazed by her father's threat. She knew that she might very well end up grounded for awhile over this, but she also knew how much her father valued truth. It was just as likely that he would let her off with only a few more hours of scolding.

When she returned in jeans and her Gryffindor sweater, found him sitting at his desk. "What are you doing?" She asked, standing at his side.

"I'm calculating," Severus teased, looping his arm around her waist. "I think you owe me six years of restriction. If you play your cards right," he smirked, "you'll be out by graduation."

"Dad…"

"Fine, have it your way." Severus tossed his quill onto the desk. "Three Saturdays chopping ingredients and cleaning the lab. We'll call it even."

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"I should hope so," Severus kissed her forehead. "Are you planning on entertaining Mr. Weasley today?"

"We were going to go visit Hagrid."

"Stay out of trouble, please. I can only spare about 20 more years." Severus released her and patted her on the hip. "And wear a cloak. A regular one."

"Yes, sir." She kissed his cheek. "It isn't fair that you made me trade a fake grounding for detention, you know."

"What makes you think that it was a fake grounding?"

"You wouldn't ground me for 6 years."

"I would if I thought it would help keep you and me from an early death." He gestured to the door. "Now go away. I have work to do."

Grinning at him, the dark haired child sprinted through the door, cloak in hand.

Severus drummed his fingers on the table. _So Trouble knows about the Stone… or at least sort of about the Stone. Of course, if I had to choose between Quirrell or Elizabeth stealing it…_


	13. Chapter 13

Elizabeth had hoped that the dragon would hatch on their visit, but she was disappointed. The rest of the holiday passed without incident, but Severus was sure that would only last so long. The term started, and Elizabeth was allowed to move back into the dorms. She seemed to be doing well in school, and Severus saw no evidence of the determined Snape temper until mid-February.

"Dad! You can't!" Elizabeth burst through his office door to reveal her father sitting at his desk, and Albus sitting across from him. "This is your fault too!" She pointed at Albus who tried to suppress a smile.

"Elizabeth Rose, that is not how you enter a room," Severus scolded. It had been a long day, and he was not in the mood for preteen angst. "I could have been in a meeting with a student."

"You never have meetings with students!"

"You'd do well to watch your tone, young lady, and if wouldn't like me to hex out your tongue, you will go to your room and calm yourself." Elizabeth didn't even glance at his wand, which was lying harmlessly on the desk.

"Don't tell me calm myself! Professor!" She rounded on Albus. "How could you let him—

"Young lady, plant your nose in that corner," Severus pointed at a bare corner of his office.

"Dad! I'm not a bloody 5 year old!"

"Watch your mouth," Severus said, his voice low. "Corner, Elizabeth, now."

Elizabeth was momentarily shocked out of her rage. "What if someone sees?"

"Then they will see what happens to disrespectful children in this house. If you aren't in that corner in 3 seconds, anyone who comes in is going to see you being hauled there by your ear. One."

Elizabeth all but sprinted to the corner, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring.

"You can stay there until you can speak like a rational person," he rolled his eyes at Dumbledore's grin. _I don't want to hear a single comment, old man. I don't care what I put you through, having a preteen girl is not a proportionate response to past sins._

_A girl with an amazing amount of stamina_, Severus thought, 20 minutes later when her posture hadn't changed. Albus had taken to writing in the air with his wand, teasing his son.

_**She's so exactly like you.**_

_**You're going gray as we sit here.**_

_**I had no idea how much fun this would be.**_

_**Once, you stood in the corner of my office for an hour and a half, remember?**_

Severus did remember. He'd been sent there for much the same offense, although he must have been more belligerent, because Albus' tolerance for disrespect was quite a bit higher than his own. He had been 15, and not only angry about whatever had caused him to yell at Albus, but also that his father seemed to think he was still young enough to stand in the corner.

He hoped that Elizabeth was not going for a record, but they hit the half hour mark with a still furious child.

_**See, if she had Lily's temper, we'd be done by now.**_

_**This is the point in the tantrum when I used to consider drinking.**_

Severus scowled, and took his frustration out on the 3rd year's essay in front of him. He looked up again only when Albus tapped impatiently on the desk so he could read his skywriting.

_**I think I know what this is about. Do you?**_

Severus rolled his eyes. Of course Albus knew what this was about. He desperately wanted to ask, but refused to lower himself to passing notes like a 1st year, especially in the air like a Muggle sparkler.

45 minutes proved to be her breaking point. "Dad?"

"Yes?"

"Can I come out?"

"Are you finished with your tantrum?"

She turned to glare at him. "You're refereeing the Quidditch match this week."

"I most certainly am not." Severus looked at Albus.

"It's your turn, my boy."

"Professor! He can't!"

"Lower your voice," Severus said firmly. "And sit down."

He turned to Dumbledore. "We discussed how I cannot be the referee for Quidditch this year. I have a child on the Gryffindor team, if you don't remember."

"Severus, all teachers referee."

Elizabeth turned her green eyes on Albus. They weren't as effective as with her father, usually, but it was worth a try. "People already think that the teachers favor me, between being who I am and being your granddaughter… The Hufflepuffs might not even play if Dad referees. Can't he trade with someone else?"

"Elizabeth…"

"Please, Professor?"

Severus smirked as he watched his father waver.

"The next game is Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Your father can't be involved in that one. And the last game of the year is Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, which causes the same problem you have now."

"Ask Flitwick if he'll do it."

"Professor Flitwick," Dumbledore corrected. "That confuses the schedule."

"Please? Dad could ref the end of the year game. Maybe people will calm down by then."

Albus sighed. "Alright, fine." He turned to his son. "That gives you a few weeks to figure out how to get out of that game, Sev."

"Don't worry, I'll find a way." Severus crooked his finger at his daughter. "Come here, Elizabeth Rose."

Elizabeth dragged her feet over to his side. "You, young lady, are too old for tantrums like this."

"Yes, sir."

"Speak to your grandfather or I that way again, and you'll have blisters on your hands from all the scrubbing you'll have to do."

"Yes, sir."

"As it is, you're lucky I don't ground you from the game this weekend and make this whole discussion a moot point."

"I'm sorry, Dad."

"Now, you're going to apologize to your grandfather, and then go to your room and do your homework until dinner."

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, Professor."

"You're forgiven, my dear. You certainly come by your temper honestly," he looked at his son.

"And someday, she's going to learn to control her temper. Hopefully before I managed to control mine." Severus gently pushed Elizabeth towards the door.

*S*S*

"It's a great day for Quidditch!" Lee Jordan shouted into the microphone. "A match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Evans is Seeking for Gryffindor. She missed the last game, which just goes to show you that having a Slytherin for a father—

"Jordan!" Minerva barked from her place beside him.

"Sorry, Professor McGonagall. No disrespect to Professor Snape, who graciously bowed out of refereeing today's event because—

"Jordan!"

Elizabeth was ignoring the announcements, standing with her teammates in their tent.

"Nervous, Evans?" Oliver asked, standing beside her.

"Maybe."

"Don't worry, the twins have your back. You just focus on the snitch, alright?"

Elizabeth nodded. She felt Fred's hand on her shoulder. "Easy as pie, right, Betsy?" Ron had run through an exhaustive list of nicknames, but Fred had been fixated on "Betsy". Elizabeth had been irritated by it when Ron had said it… but somehow she didn't mind when it was Fred.

"Right," she said, smiling up at him.

"Alright then, let's go."

The game started out easy. Elizabeth was able to stay up and out of the fray, looking for the snitch. She glanced over at the stands and saw her father watching. He was sitting near Ron and Hermione, looking incredibly uncomfortable to be among so many Gryffindors.

Elizabeth was wandering around the sky when her broom started to buck. Fred flew by, deflecting a bludger. "Alright, Betsy?"

Elizabeth didn't answer, she was too busy trying to stay on her broom. She fell, and held on with one hand before swinging herself back on to the misfiring wooden deathtrap.

In the stands, Severus stood._ I swear, if that girl doesn't stop doing tricks, I'm going to wallop…_ He stopped his mental diatribe when he caught a look at his child's face. She was not doing stunts. She'd lost control of her broom. The broom to which he'd carefully applied every safety charm in existence. He searched the crowd and found exactly what he'd expected to find. Quirrell. Muttering.

Severus turned back towards his daughter, drawing his own wand and intoning his own charms to counteract the hex. He could only hope to outlast Quirrell to keep his daughter safe. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Granger move towards him, most likely to ask a question about what was going on. On the way, she knocked into Quirrell, breaking his eye contact.

Reminding himself to thank the Gryffindor, he looked back at Elizabeth, only to see her falling toward the ground. Heart leaping out of his chest, he cast a softening charm at the ground to break her fall, and tried desperately to slow her with another spell. He watched her hit the ground, and launched himself down the steps to the pitch.

By the time he reached the bottom of the stands, she was sitting up, with Fred and Oliver beside her, looking like she was going to sick up at any moment. "Elizabeth—

The word was barely past his lips when she gagged and leaned forward, something falling from her mouth into her hand. The snitch.

"GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Lee Jordan bellowed into the microphone, dodging Minerva's swipe for the object.

Severus took the snitch and tossed it to Oliver before scooping his daughter into his arms. Minutes later she was in the Hospital Wing, lying on a bed. Poppy was hovering around. "She's alright, Severus, just let me get rid of some of these scrapes."

"Scrapes do not imply 'alright', Poppy." Severus frowned.

"Really, Dad, I'm fine."

"You're going to stay that way," Severus said softly, his voice as unsteady as she'd ever heard. He sat in one of the chairs near her bed, and tried to slow his racing heart.

"Dad?" Elizabeth sat up as Poppy finished healing her cuts. "Dad, it's okay." She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood between his knees. "Dad? Are you okay?"

Severus shook himself out of his trance and pulled her to him. "I'm okay, Rosie. Just another 10 years off my life, that's all."

"Dad…" She put her arms around his neck. "I didn't do anything, I swear. The broom—

"I know, Elizabeth. I'll take care of it so it won't happen again."

"I caught the snitch, did you see?"

"As you were plummeting toward Earth, you almost choked yourself on that godforsaken ball. Yes, I did see." He ruffled her hair. "I also see that you have a visitor." He looked pointedly towards the door.

"Elizabeth!" Hermione burst in. "Are you alright?" She skidded to a stop and looked sheepishly at Snape. "I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's quite alright, Miss Granger." He stood. "Lunch is in half an hour. I'm sure Elizabeth would like to go back to the Tower to change." He released his child and watched the girls scamper off, taking another deep breath to slow his racing heart. Perhaps he'd over-reacted by hauling her off to the hospital wing so quickly… no, of course not.

*S*S*

It was the middle of the night nearly a week later when Severus woke out of his light slumber at a sound he didn't recognize. Grabbing his wand and sticking his feet in slippers, he went out into the living room, only to see the light on in his private potions lab. Casting _lumos_, he went down the stairs to the lab.

"When I said 'no brewing unless I'm home', I meant 'home and awake'." Severus said softly when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Sorry," Elizabeth mumbled, focused on the cauldron before her.

"No, no, my mistake. I should have been more specific," Severus said lightly. "What is that you're working on?"

"Pain reliever."

"I thought you'd mastered that one." Severus sat on a stool beside her.

"Need it."

Severus frowned. She'd been aloof since the Quidditch match, quiet, but now she looked like she was fighting just to get the words out. "Where do you hurt, lion?"

"Scar." She extinguished the flame and waved her wand to bottle the mixture.

"We have pain reliever upstairs, Elizabeth. You should have woken me."

"Tried it."

"Tried waking me?"

"Pain reliever upstairs. Didn't work." She waited for the vial to cool.

The point finally clicked with Severus. "Give me that." He plucked the vial from her fingers. "How strong is this?"

She held up the third year potion text.

"Elizabeth!" Severus groaned, and cast a spell on the potion to determine its potency. "Young lady, this could have very well killed you! You can't make potions this advanced yet!"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Hurts."

Severus sighed. "If the regular pain killer didn't work, we need to think of something else. High level pain killers are for people who've had surgery. Or for use in child birth." He vanished the potion and took her by the arm. "You're too small to take them. Come upstairs, and let me look at your forehead."

She was whimpering softly now, and when Severus looked down he saw the tears falling from her eyes. His heart broke. He could deal with the tears when he was scolding, or when her preteen drama sent her into hysteria he didn't understand. But his child was in pain. That he couldn't handle.

He quickly ushered her up the stairs and settled her on his lap in his armchair. "Let me see," he brushed her hair away, his fingers brushing against the scar. "I'm sorry," he apologized, expecting that the contact would make the angry red scar more painful.

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she grabbed his hand, laying it against her forehead. Instantly, her shoulders relaxed and she sagged into his pajama top. "Thank you."

Severus was puzzled. There was no reason why touching something that painful should help. "When did this start, lion?"

"Mmmm." He looked down at her and saw that her eyes were closed. Sitting back, he moved her into a more comfortable position against him. Severus glanced at the clock, deciding that there was more than enough time to fall back asleep, and he did just that. He woke six times before morning, his sleep interrupted by needing to check that he was still touching her scar.

When Remus arrived at 8, Severus was awake, sitting on the sofa with Elizabeth's head in his lap. "I thought we were going to Hogsmeade today?"

"Rough night," Severus said simply.

"What happened?" Remus stepped forward, arms out. "Do you want me to take her while you get cleaned up?"

Severus considered this for a moment. "Come over here and put your hand on her scar. I want to see something." Remus raised an eyebrow but did what he was asked. The moment his hand replaced Severus', Elizabeth woke, her eyes filled with pain again.

"Daddy…"

"I'm sorry, Rosie." Severus waved Remus' hand away and placed his own back on her forehead. She relaxed again. "It hurts unless I'm touching it," Severus explained.

Remus sat at the other end of the sofa, pulling her stocking feet into his lap. "How long has this been going on?"

"I was trying to get the answer to that last night, but she fell asleep on me," Severus said, turning his attention to Elizabeth. "How long, lion?"

"It started at the Quidditch match," she said softly. "It hurt so much… I couldn't sleep."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Severus tried to keep the exasperation out of his voice.

"I didn't want—

"Me to worry," Severus interrupted. "Never mind, I knew the answer to that." He called a house elf for breakfast, and after setting the plate on her lap, cast a silencing charm around her.

"What do you think?" He looked at Remus.

Remus frowned. "Maybe she needs human contact? That's why you can relieve it but not me?"

Severus shook his head. "You'd think she'd be able to calm it herself if that was the case."

"Unless it has to be outside human contact," Remus rubbed his neck. "Or maybe it's blood. She needs a blood relation?"

"We don't have someone else handy to test that theory," Severus said ruefully. "I don't know." He looked down at the child beside him. "Regardless of why touching it helps, I can't stay glued to her forehead for the rest of her life."

"She doesn't seem to mind," Remus chuckled, watching his goddaughter eating a piece of toast.

"She might, when she realizes how hard it is to ride a broom with your father attached. Although it works nicely with the lack of dating life I have planned for her." He shook his head. "Let's focus on why it hurts. Maybe we'll come up with a better solution if we know what the problem is."

Remus was quiet for a moment before turning concerned eyes at his friend.

"What?" Severus' furrowed his brow.

"How's your arm, Sev?"

Severus looked down at his forearm. "It tingles… but Albus thinks it's psychological."

"What if it's not?" Remus questioned. "Your daughter has a 'mark' of her own."

Severus winced. If Elizabeth was in as much pain as he was when being summoned…

"Maybe." He felt Elizabeth pulling on his robes. She was furiously pantomiming something. Rolling his eyes, he took off the silencing charm. "Elizabeth, I can hear you. The silencing charm keeps you from hearing_ us_, that's all."

"Don't talk about me when I can't hear you."

"I'll talk about whatever I want, young lady." He vanished her empty breakfast plate.

"It must be the blood if we're right," Remus continued as if the exchange hadn't happened. "You must be blocking the curse. We need something that doubles as you."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "How could we do that?"

"I don't know." Remus considered the point for a moment. "A MummyMinder!"

"What?"

"A MummyMinder charm. Lily used to cast one on Lunus when you and she were out and I was watching her. As long as the object is in contact with the child, it gives the illusion that the mother is there."

"Would it be enough to block the curse?"

"I don't know. But I suppose it's worth a try." Remus stood. "I don't know how to do it. I'll have to ask Lily." He hurried into the bedroom.

"Right about what?" Elizabeth turned to look at Severus.

"We have a theory about your scar, that's all." Severus said gently, using his free hand to smooth her hair.

"What theory?"

"Don't worry," he soothed, purposefully not answering the question. Luckily, he was rescued by Remus, who returned with a scrap of parchment.

"It worked on Lunus when you were a baby. I suppose we might as well use him again. Where is he?" Remus asked the child.

"On my bed," Elizabeth said, yawning.

"How long has it been since you slept?" Severus asked as Remus went to fetch the plush.

"I just woke up," she said, looking at him like he'd lost a few marbles.

"I meant through the night."

She shrugged. "Not since before the game."

Severus bit back a curse, but was distracted from comment by Lupin's return.

"Lily's portrait luckily remembers her spell. Apparently, it is particular to each mother, so this will only work for Elizabeth. Unless you have other kids I don't know about?" He grinned at Severus who rolled his eyes.

"Merlin help me, I hope not."

Remus set Lunus on the table and, his wand in one hand, and the slip of parchment in the other, cast the spell. Lunus glowed briefly then appeared the same as before. "Lily's worried that it won't work if she doesn't cast it, but she clearly can't do that."

Severus picked up the toy and let go of his daughter's forehead, wincing as she hissed with pain. He handed her Lunus. Instantly, she relaxed. "It works!"

"Why doesn't it have to be on her forehead?" Severus looked at Remus.

"How should I know?" Lupin was grinning at the pain-free girl.

"You've had all the answers so far, that's all." Severus sat back, massaging the cramp out of his arm from holding it so unnaturally for hours.

Remus looked at Elizabeth. "Why don't you go get dressed? We'll go to Hogsmeade and I'll convince your father that ice cream is a replacement for lunch."

After she'd gone into her room, Remus turned back to Severus. "I think it's Lily. You have a blood bond, so you can protect her when you are physically right over her scar, but Lily gave her life for Elizabeth. The blood bond there is so much stronger… Didn't you say that's why Albus sent her to live with Petunia? Because of the blood wards?"

Severus nodded. "A lot of good it did her…" he sighed. "I suppose I'll go get dressed." He stood and scowled at his friend. "And we will have lunch before ice cream."

"Sure, Sev. Whatever you say." Remus rolled his eyes. "You go, I'm going to wait here and transfigure Lunus into something she can carry more easily." He flopped down on the sofa.

Severus went into his room and closed the door, mumbling about how he was going to have to buy new furniture if people didn't learn to sit properly.

_Hogwarts- 1972_

_The globe on Dumbledore's desk glowed softly. He'd been the Headmaster for almost 2 years, and he was starting to believe that the office should have gone to a younger man. Laying his hand gently on the orb, he released the prophecy into his mind, listening to it again._

"_The one essential in the downfall of the Dark Lord has come…Born to one who is not of our way… the man who calls himself father of choice will wield power over evil through his son and decedents of that son…"_

_There was a knock on the door, and it opened to reveal Minerva McGonagall, a roll of parchment in her hand. "Headmaster?"_

"_Minerva, you've called me Albus for years. Kindly continue to do so."_

_Minerva smiled tightly. "I need you to witness a signature."_

"_Of course. What is it?"_

"_I'm adopting Severus Snape."_

_Albus frowned. "Just like that? I know you're fond of the boy, and I know his mother passed on, but doesn't he have a father?"_

"_The man hates him, Albus, and has all but drank himself to death. He can't go back there."_

"_Minerva, the boy should be with his father. He isn't even in your house."_

"_He needs to be a Gryffindor to be protected, Albus?" Minerva's brogue got thicker as her voice rose. "If you won't witness the signing, I'll find someone else."_

_Albus paused. "Severus' father is a Muggle, yes?"_

"_Yes. That's why he hates the boy."_

"_If…" Albus glanced at the prophecy on the desk. "If you do this, he'll need a father. A man in his life."_

"_What are you getting at?"_

_Albus made a decision. "If you adopt him, I'd like to call myself his father."_


	14. Chapter 14

Several days later, Severus, tired of transfiguring Lunus back and forth for portability and night time use, and finally recast the spell on a silver and emerald bracelet that had been his mother's. He clasped it around his daughter's wrist and shrank it so it fit.

"What if it falls off?" Elizabeth said nervously.

"Then you come to me and I'll cast the spell on something else."

"But it's beautiful… I don't want to lose it."

Severus sighed. Of course she was worried about losing the thing. As if that was more important than the pain ripping through her head! "I'll place a sticking charm on it. Don't worry."

With that solved, he sent her to Gryffindor Tower.

"Can't I stay and see Remus?"

"We're discussing adult things, Elizabeth. He'll still be here for dinner. You can see him then."

"I'm not a baby!" Elizabeth scowled. They were going to talk about her. It wasn't fair that she couldn't know what was going on.

"No, but you're currently behaving like a toddler." Severus said crossly. "You have a class in ten minutes."

"I have a right to know when you talk about me!"

"Young lady, not everything is about you." Severus scowled. "And even if it was, you do not have any rights to my private conversations. Now do as you're told and go to class."

"Stupid…" Elizabeth muttered as she turned away.

Severus grabbed her upper arm and spun her back to look at him. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Elizabeth mumbled.

"That's what I thought." He leaned down. "Go. Now." His glare made her blood run cold, and she lost her courage, all but sprinting out the door.

"Elizabeth!" Ron was jogging down the hall with Hermione in tow. "Did you do the Transfiguration essay?" He poked her in the shoulder when she didn't respond. "Hey!"

Elizabeth shook the fog out of her head. "What?"

"Transfiguration essay. Did you do it?"

"Oh. Yeah."

"See, Ronald, I told you she'd do it." Hermione said approvingly.

"It's only 'cause it's McGonagall." Ron said defensively. "She doesn't do other stuff."

Elizabeth let the other two fight over the state of her homework, fingering the bracelet around her wrist, all the way to class.

*S*S*

"Why is it hurting just now?" Remus said, sitting in a chair across from Snape's desk. "If he's coming back, like we think he is, why wasn't she in constant pain before now? If you're right about Quirrell, he's been working at bringing You-Know-Who back all year."

Severus grimaced. "I hope I'm not right about Quirrell. I hope I'm not right that the Dark Lord is returning. But I've never thought he was dead. And it makes sense that Elizabeth would have some kind of sensitivity to his power. As to why it's so new… I don't know."

"Maybe he's angry," Remus mused. "Quirrell has been trying to get at her. He's made multiple attempts on her life as far as we know. Maybe the fact that he's been thwarted has angered him?"

Severus shook his head. "It doesn't make sense. It's as if he's torturing her from afar…" He looked at his friend. "She's angry with me. She thinks we're hiding things from her."

"We are," Remus shrugged. "She can be angry all she wants. She doesn't need a link with the darkest wizard in history hanging over her head. You think she has nightmares now? You know the terror that the Dark Lord can do to a person's mind better than anyone."

"I know," Severus said quietly. "I'm not going to tell her. I just know what she does when she doesn't have information. She's the nosiest child I know. It's going to get her hurt one of these days."

"She is her father's daughter."

"I was never that way," Severus protested.

"Mmhmm," Remus smirked. "So that wasn't you who went looking for unicorns in the Forbidden Forest our Fourth Year?"

"That's different."

"Oh really? You were curious, and you put yourself in danger."

"And I was punished for that act."

"True. Your daughter might be interested to know that her father used to get his behind paddled by his Mum."

"Watch your step, Lupin. I'm trained in the Dark Arts. They'd never find your body."

"Temper, temper. Another delightful trait you passed along, by the way."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Get a food taster, Lupin. It would be a shame if someone slipped a hair-loss potion into your tea."

"Certain times of the month, I need that potion," Remus grinned. "Speaking of that, do you have my Wolfsbane?"

Severus stood to go down to the lab. "Not that you deserve it," he grumbled as he disappeared down the stairs.

*S*S*

_The Hog's Head Inn- 1981_

_Aberforth Dumbledore was cleaning his bar glasses with the dirtiest rag known to man. Glancing up as the bell on the door sounded, he glared at the man who walked in. "A little out of your comfort zone, aren't you, Albus?"_

"_Truce, brother. I just came for a drink." Albus sat at the bar. "Severus is just devastated over Lily's marriage."_

"_It's about time. I hear she has a child almost a year old. I assume it's Potter's?"_

"_I suppose." Albus marveled at how well the secret had been kept. With the exception of Remus, Sirius, and Minerva, no one had witnessed his son's wedding. Memory charms on entire populations were so messy. It was lucky that one was not required for this ruse. _

_Aberforth, meanwhile, was reveling in his brother's pain. Karma, the younger Dumbledore thought, for the way he'd tossed Ariana to the side so he could go off and be the great wizard._

"_He's so vulnerable," Albus went on. "It would break my heart if he fell back in with his old Slytherin friends. Lucius Malfoy is deeply involved on the wrong side of this war now, and he's always had his sights on Sev." He casually sipped his firewhisky. _

"_Malfoy comes in here all the time," Aberforth commented, a plan already formulating in his head. If it would break his brother's heart… then a meeting between Malfoy and Snape could certainly be arranged._

_Seeing the seeds growing in his brother's mind, Albus hid a smile. Nine years of molding his "son". Encouraging just enough self-doubt, just enough rebellion. This last piece of the puzzle… it would most certainly give him his spy. And hopefully the downfall of the Dark Lord._

Hagrid's egg hatched at the end of April, but Elizabeth, Ron, and Hermione didn't manage to go see the dragon until early May.

"That's a Norwegian Ridgeback!" Ron exclaimed.

"What did you name him?" Elizabeth asked, feeding the winged creature some raw steak.

"Norbert," Hagrid said proudly. "He's a smart little thing, aren't you, Norbert?" He rubbed the animal's head. The dragon sent a stream of fire at Hermione in response.

"Hagrid!" Elizabeth shrieked and pulled her friend back. "That thing is a death trap!"

"No he's not. He's just spirited!" Hagrid looked offended.

The spirited dragon spun and sank his teeth into Ron's hand. Ron screamed, his face going white.

*S*S*

Severus closed the door of his office. "Elizabeth, you and I both know that Mr. Weasley was not bitten by a dog."

"That's what Ron said."

"I'm aware of that. I'm also aware that you're trying to avoid lying to me, which I would applaud if you weren't doing it so badly." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against his desk. "Now I'm sure that the reason Mr. Weasley's hand is swollen to the size of a Quaffle is a bite, but we need to know what bit him."

"Dad…"

"No, Elizabeth. None of that. Frankly, I couldn't care less about what happens to the Weasley boy. However, you do. So talk, or I'll find a way to persuade you." He hid his smirk of satisfaction as she backed away. _She acts like I've beaten her, silly child. Of course, if she's been near what I think she's been near, I just might beat her senseless._

"Hagrid has a…" The last word was lost in a mumble.

"Pardon me? I didn't catch that last word."

"Dragon," she whispered.

Severus nodded. "Just as I suspected. Foolish children, what were you thinking?" He went to the fireplace. "Go sit on the sofa and wait for me, I need to tend to your boyfriend."

"Dad!"

Severus smirked, threw powder in the flames and stepped through.

Elizabeth went to their quarters and sat on the sofa, pulling out her schoolbooks. Severus was usually persuaded into calm by the sight of academic work. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the chamber door. Opening it, she was face to face with Fred Weasley.

"Hey, where's George?"

"With Ron. What happened?"

Elizabeth sighed. "Hagrid has a dragon."

"A WHAT?" She wasn't sure she'd ever seen Fred anything but jovial. "What were you thinking? Going near something like that? You've seen Charlie! Do you think those scars come from boating accidents?"

"He's a baby—

"A fire breathing, biting, clawing baby!" He shook his head. "I'm going to kill Ron. Or maybe have Percy do it, he's older." He scowled.

"You're just mad we didn't invite you," Elizabeth tried to lighten the mood. Fred's stare was looking dangerously like Severus'.

"You know very well that this isn't about that! George and I mess around, but we would never do something that would put one of us in the Hospital Wing!"

Severus stood in the shadows, listening to half the Weasley twins soundly scold his daughter. _Hmmm… _he thought to himself, _perhaps it isn't the youngest Weasley boy I need to worry about._

Fred was outlining exactly what the difference was between a prank and something stupid and dangerous.

"I agree, Mr. Weasley, however it's probably best if you go and see your brother."

"Yes, sir." He threw one more glare at Elizabeth and disappeared around the corner.

"I thought I told you not to open the door when I'm not here," Severus said, waiting until she stepped back to come through into the living room.

"Is Ron going to be okay?" Elizabeth asked, trying to draw the subject away from yet another thing that was likely to get her in trouble.

"In a few days. Dragon poison can be quite potent." He pointed to the sofa. "Sit."

She obeyed, not looking at him.

"Tell me, my foolish child, did you know that there was a dragon before you went down there today?"

"Yes, sir. But I didn't know that they could be so dangerous, honest! Hagrid said it was cute—

"Cute! A fire-breathing dragon?" Severus looked furious. "When are you going to start using your head?"

Elizabeth looked at her shoes. "I'm sorry, Dad."

"I'm sure you are. I'm sure you'd be sorrier if that was you with a swollen hand." Severus sat beside her. "My God, Elizabeth…" He took her by the shoulders. "You cannot do these reckless things, you incorrigible brat." He shook her a bit. "If this was an accident, I wouldn't be angry with you, but you willfully went down there! You've read Muggle fantasy books, you know how dangerous dragons can be." He gave her his patented Snape glare. "You wanted an adventure, and you certainly got more than you bargained for."

"I didn't. Hagrid just said to come down. I didn't know it would bite someone."

"Elizabeth, what contact did you have with that dragon?"

"I fed it." Elizabeth flinched at the look in her father's eyes. "But it didn't hurt me!"

"Because my wrath at someone or something hurting my child is known the world over to both man and beast," Severus scowled. "But it would be easier for me to mete out appropriate retribution to those who hurt you if you stopped making it so easy."

"Norbert didn't hurt me, Dad."

"I won't even ask why Hagrid named a deadly creature 'Norbert'. However, it won't matter soon. Charlie Weasley has agreed to come and transport the scaled nuisance to somewhere it can't cause havoc."

"Hagrid's going to be upset!"

"You should worry more about how upset I am, young lady." He fixed her with a piercing gaze. "If you know I would say no to something, it is not an excuse to just not ask. 'You didn't say no' is not a work around." He frowned. "Elizabeth Rose, if you had said, 'Dad, can I go fraternize with a dragon," what would I have said?"

"You would have said no, but I wouldn't have used the word fraternize."

"You are in enough trouble without cheek, young lady. Did you know that "no" would be my response before you went to Hagrid's today?"

"Yes, sir."

"So you did something you knew you wouldn't be allowed to do, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"You once again threw yourself into danger, and this time it nearly cost your friend his life." He crossed his arms again. "There are too many people who love you for you to do foolish stunts like this, do you understand that?"

"Yes, sir." Elizabeth dug the toe of her shoe into the dungeon floor.

"If you'd been bitten by that dragon, we would have had to build a new section of the Hospital Wing to accommodate the people who would be worried about you."

"You and Remus."

"And your Grandparents."

"And Ron and Hermione. And the Quidditch team."

"Especially one Mr. Fred Weasley."

Elizabeth looked at his quizzically. "He would be worried about Ron."

"If he was worried only about Ron, he could have done that from the Hospital Wing. He came all the way down to the Dungeons to—

"To chew me out."

"First, don't interrupt me. Second, yes he did 'chew you out'. Did it occur to you that it is only the people in your life who care about you that are upset when you do stupid things? I didn't see Draco Malfoy down here scolding, or did I miss that visit?"

Elizabeth smiled a little.

"Not that I'm encouraging anything, mind you. He's too old for you. I'm sure his level of caring is similar to what he would feel for a little sister." He rubbed his hand over his face. "I don't want to even think about you in relation to a boy for several years."

"How about 2?"

"Two weeks of detention? Just what I was thinking."

"Dad! I meant 2 years!" Elizabeth glared.

"Two years of detention seems a bit extreme, but if you insist—

"Dad!"

"Not a day before you turn 16," Severus said firmly. "And if you ever go near a dragon again, it won't matter, because I will lock you in the dungeon cell that I'm planning on building."

"After you hang me from my ankles and beat me to death?"

"Yes, after that." Severus put his arm around her and let her lay her head on his shoulder. "Did you finish your homework during your pretend scholastic session?"

"I have a transfiguration essay due tomorrow, but I need someone to read it over for me."

"Give it to me." Severus held out his free hand and Elizabeth used her wand to levitate the parchment from the table into his hand. "Lazy child."

"I was comfortable."

"This was another 5 years off my life, you know."

"A little Elixer of Life could fix that for you." She said casually, pretending to examine her fingernails.

Severus looked up from the essay. "How did you figure it out?"

"Hermione. She finally found the right book."

"I see." Severus was quiet as he finished reading. "Not bad, although you'd do well to check your spelling." He set the essay on the table and turned towards his daughter. "Do you understand why the Stone is so well protected?"

"Because everyone would want it?"

"Not so much that, as the havoc it would cause if everyone could use it. Or the wars it would create when no one could agree on how its power should be used." He looked past her, thinking. "When you start interfering with death…" he shook his head. "It's not our place to change the natural course of things, Elizabeth. As much as we might want to. There are many who would want the stone, and just as many who would tear the world apart if they had it."

"I think someone it trying to steal it."

Severus schooled his features into a passive mask. "What makes you think that?"

Elizabeth recounted the evidence, working backwards from the foray with Hagrid through the Forbidden Forest several nights before (Severus made a note to talk about that bit of information later) where she'd seen the dead unicorn, to the bite on Severus' ankle months earlier.

"I think you were trying to block someone from getting the stone. Was it Quirrell?" The look in her eyes was challenging her father to lie to her. "You wouldn't have been bitten by the dog otherwise, and he was the only one there."

"I was bitten because I was distracted by my danger-magnet daughter." He reminded her.

"But you were there before I was."

"Maybe I was trying to steal the stone," Severus commented dryly.

Elizabeth shook her head as if he'd offered a serious suggestion. "That's what Ron thought too, but I say no. You don't want to live forever."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Really? What makes you think that?"

"Grandma says you're a… martyr. That you want everyone you love to be safe, but you don't so much care about yourself."

"Your Grandmother should find another hobby other than analyzing my character," Severus grumbled. "No, I do not want to live forever. Not that the stone would necessarily bring that about. The Elixer of Life extends life; it doesn't make someone immortal. But even if it brought immortality… an eternity without your mother is not something I'd willingly sign on for."

"Do you know who's trying to steal it?"

"I suppose there are many candidates for that role, if your suspicions are correct." Severus hedged. "But it is certainly not your responsibility to protect it. There are many safeguards around the stone, and if necessary, the staff will add more." He leveled his gaze at the girl. "I am sure that it goes without saying that you are not to go anywhere near the 3rd floor corridor or the stone, but let me be clear," he narrowed his eyes. "You and your friends will stay away, no matter what your creative excuse might be. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Elizabeth Rose?"

"Yes, sir."

"Don't make that face at me, Miss Evans. I won't tolerate any disobedience on this. The protections are dangerous, as they are supposed to be."

"I didn't make a face, Dad, I swear."

"Hmm." Severus pointed to her essay. "Finish your homework, and we'll have dinner here." He watched her work for a while. He believed that she wouldn't willfully disobey his order, but there always seemed to be a loophole with his green-eyed child.


	15. Chapter 15

"Bring me your history notes, and I'll quiz you," Severus said the night before the last exam.

"I'm going to be fine, Dad. Hermione made me study all day yesterday."

"Good, then you'll be fine on the quiz I'm about to give you. Hand me your notes."

Rolling her eyes, Elizabeth handed them over. Severus paged through them briefly. "Elizabeth Rose, your handwriting is horrendous."

"I can read it."

"Oh really? What is that word?" Severus pointed at an illegible smudge on the page. "We are going to work on penmanship during the summer holiday."

"Dad! I already have summer homework, and it's supposed to be a vacation!"

"I manage to read your chicken scratch, but I have to imagine it is only due to my blood that runs through your veins." He smirked. "I perish the thought of your other teachers having to decipher these hieroglyphics." He handed her the stack of parchment. "Since you are the only one who can read these, I want you to study for another half hour."

"I'm hungry."

Severus waved his wand and a banana appeared from the kitchens. "Here. Study." Taking the banana, Elizabeth threw herself onto the sofa. "I'm sorry," Severus drawled. "It this one of those infernal Muggle amusement centers with the pit of germy plastic balls?"

"How would you know about those?"

"One of the men I worked with when I was apprenticing invented them so that Muggles could feel weightless," Severus said. "Not that it is really the same as floating, but Muggle children seem amused by them. My point, however, was that launching yourself onto the sofa is not necessary."

*S*S*

Later that evening, Severus sat on the bed and looked at his wife's portrait. "Is she okay?" Elizabeth didn't spend much time speaking to Lily anymore, and Severus hadn't encouraged her to do so. Lily's portrait was _not_ Lily, and while he allowed himself to live in a fantasy, pretending that the portrait was a fitting replacement, he knew better than to allow Elizabeth to establish too much of a mother-daughter relationship with paint.

So he was surprised when Elizabeth had gone into his room before dinner and closed the door after informing him in no uncertain terms that he was to stay out.

"She says you won't let her date FOREVER," Lily over dramatized the last word in imitation of her daughter.

"I said 16, although I can imagine that 5 years might seem like forever to an 11 year old."

"16? Sev, we were much younger than that. I think Minerva caught us in an empty classroom—

"THAT is not an image that makes me want to bring my daughter's dating age down."

"Severus… what if my father had said I couldn't date you until I was 16?"

Severus tilted his head, a smile played across his lips, but his eyes were earnest. "I would have waited for you, Lily. Because I knew I loved you. If we're lucky, someday our daughter will find someone who will wait for her."

"You're sweet, love. But better you to have to enforce that than me. I don't envy you the door slamming in your future."

"I certainly hope that we are almost out of the temper tantrum phase."

"I slammed my bedroom door nearly every day when I was 13."

"That's because your father let you get away with it," Severus smirked. "You were a spoiled brat." He laughed and stood up.

"Wait, Sev. I need you to do something."

"What's that?" Severus sat back down.

"Your daughter is becoming a woman, Sev."

"What? She's… I mean, I've had some Slytherin girls start… but not until second year…"

"No Sev, not that. At least I don't think so. But she will soon. You haven't noticed that she's developing?"

Severus shook his head. "I spend little time looking at my daughter's body, Lily."

"She needs proper undergarments, Severus. You need to take her shopping."

Severus groaned. "No way. Not a chance. We can owl order them or something."

"Fine, but then you'll have to fit her yourself. I can imagine that would be worse." She smirked. "Just do it, Sev."

*S*S*

"Mother?" Severus looked into her office. Minerva was sitting in cat form on the desk. The cat cocked her head to the side. Severus rolled his eyes. "Can you be human for a minute, please?"

If he didn't know better, he would have sworn that the cat smirked before changing back into the Transfiguration professor. "Hello, kitten."

"Merlin, Mum…"

"Alright, Sev, I'm sorry. What's got you in a twist?" She gestured to the sofa along one wall.

"Mum, I need you to do something for me."

"Of course. What do you need?" Minerva sat beside him.

"I need you to take Elizabeth shopping."

"Clothes horse, is she? You can just say 'no', Sev. She doesn't need new shoes that badly. She has all summer—

"Not shoes, Mum… I… umm…"

Minerva had never seen her son so agitated. "What?"

"I need you to take her shopping for… Lily says she needs proper undergarments."

Minerva grinned. This was going to be fun. "Severus, are you afraid to go brassiere shopping with your daughter?"

"I am not afraid!" Severus said firmly. "I… it's not proper. I'm her father. This is a… a woman… thing."

"Eloquent, son." Minerva smirked. She wanted to further embarrass him, but the look of panic in his eyes forced her to take pity on him. "I'll take her. But you've got to get over this, because I am not explaining the facts of life to her."

"Don't worry," Severus smiled ruefully. "I think I have a book somewhere. She's an excellent reader." He stood. "Thank you. I'll send her to you tomorrow afternoon after her exam."

*S*S*

The History of Magic exam finally came to an end. In spite of her throbbing scar and sleepless night from the ever-increasing nightmares, Elizabeth hoped she'd managed to do well enough. She hadn't told Severus about the pain in her forehead. He'd been so worried about the nightmares, he'd taken to sleeping in the armchair in her bedroom every night.

Elizabeth, Ron, and Hermione were lounging on the sun-warmed grass, celebrating their freedom. "My scar keeps hurting—I need to put my bracelet back on." Elizabeth pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead. She's stopped wearing the bracelet a few weeks before and found that her pain was not constant anymore.

"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione suggested.

"I'm not ill," Elizabeth said. "I'll just put the bracelet back on."

Ron pulled up a blade of grass. "Betsy, relax. Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around. Anyway, we've never had any proof that whoever wants to steal the stone found out how to get past Fluffy. Your dad nearly had his leg ripped off, and he probably knows the secret. Neville will play Quidditch for England before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down."

"Stop calling me Betsy," she said, her mind clearly elsewhere. "I think we need to go see Hagrid."

"Why?" Hermione stood up as Elizabeth started to move away.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that what Hagrid wants more than anything else is a dragon, and a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if it's against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

"What are you talking about?" Ron ran after his now sprinting friend.

"I can't believe I didn't put it together. Dad would be horrified at my lack of logic."

Hagrid was sitting in an armchair outside his house.

"Hello," he said, smiling.

"We're in a hurry, Hagrid. I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno," Hagrid said. "He wouldn't take his cloak off."

Elizabeth sank down next to the armchair. "What did you talk to him about, Hagrid? Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"

"Mighta come up," said Hagrid. "Yeah… he asked what I did, and I told him I was gamekeeper here… He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after… so I told him… and I said what I'd always really wanted was a dragon… I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy. I told him, Fluffy's a piece of cake if you know how to calm him down, just play him a bit of music and he'll go straight to sleep—

"We've got to go." Elizabeth led the other two on a sprint towards the castle.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore," Elizabeth said, breathing hard. "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it had to be Quirrell under that cloak. We just have to—

"What are you three doing inside?" Minerva came down the hall.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," said Hermione.

"See Professor Dumbledore? Why?"

"It's sort of a secret," Elizabeth said.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," Minerva said firmly. "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry and flew off at once."

"He's gone?" Elizabeth asked frantically. "Now?"

"Your grandfather is a very important man, Elizabeth, he has many demands on his time—

"It's important!"

"Elizabeth Evans, what is this all about?"

"It's about the Sorcerer's Stone—

"How do you know— ?" Minerva sputtered.

"Someone is going to try to steal the stone. We have to talk to the Headmaster!"

Minerva leveled her stare at her granddaughter. "Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow," she said firmly. "I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possibly steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor—

"Mr. Weasley, I know what I'm talking about. I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."

"But—

"Enough!" Minerva turned Elizabeth towards the doors of the castle and pushed her none to gently. "Do as you're told. Or would you like me to get your father?"

"No, Ma'am."

"Good. Now go. I'll see you after lunch."

Once Minerva was out of earshot, Elizabeth turned to her friends. "It's tonight. Whoever it is has found everything they need, and now Dumbledore is out of the way. I bet the thief sent the note."

"Elizabeth, are you sure that… well, I mean… your Dad got bit by Fluffy. Are you sure…"

"What are you trying to say, Ron?" Elizabeth glared. "Dad is not the thief. You can't think he is just because he wears black clothes."

"He was a Death Eater, maybe he's doing it for You Know Who…"

"Shut up, Ronald." Hermione hissed.

"Who was a Death Eater, Mr. Weasley?" The children wheeled around. Severus was standing behind them with his arms crossed. "Good afternoon," he said quietly. The kids were mute, terrified at being caught in their planning. "You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," Severus said. "If I'm not mistaken, Professor McGonagall told you to go outside just a moment ago." He narrowed his eyes at his daughter. "You want to be more careful. Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something."

They turned to go outside, but Severus stopped Elizabeth. "Be warned, young lady— I had better not catch you out after curfew tonight." He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir."

"Go outside like your grandmother said. She's taking you shopping this afternoon."

"For what?"

"You'll see," Severus said awkwardly. "Meet her in her office after lunch." With that, he turned and strode down the hall.

"Let's go," Elizabeth said softly. "We'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor."

But that part of the plan didn't work. No sooner had they reached the door separating Fluffy from the rest of the school than Minerva turned up again.

"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments! Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take fifty points from Gryffindor. Yes, Weasley, from my own House!" She stepped menacingly toward her granddaughter. "Go to the Tower, now! And stay there until lunch time!"

The three ran, vaulting through the portrait. In the common room, Hermione and Ron looked at Elizabeth.

"I'm going out there tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first."

"You're mad!" Ron exclaimed.

"You can't!" Hermione echoed. "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? We'll be expelled!"

"SO WHAT?" Elizabeth shouted. "Don't you understand? If whoever wants the stone gets it, they will give it Voldemort. Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? Do you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wins the House Cup?"

Elizabeth dug at her nails. "If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to deal with my Dad, but it'll be better than going over to the Dark! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you two say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my mother, and he ruined my father's life. If he comes back, Dad will have to go back to him. He still has the Mark. I won't let it happen!" She glared at them. "I'll use the Invisibility Cloak."

"But will it cover all three of us?" Ron asked.

"All— all three of us?"

"Oh, come off it, you don't think we'd let you go alone?"

"Of course not," said Hermione briskly. "How do you think you'd get to the Stone without us? I'd better go and look through my books, there might be something useful…"

"But if we get caught, you two will be expelled, too."

"Not if I can help it," said Hermione. "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."

"I don't want to go shopping, Grandma."

"Come along, it's a lovely day for a stroll." Minerva held out her hand. "And from what I saw earlier, it seems you need to get out of the castle."

"I really don't need anything."

Minerva sighed. "Come. We'll floo to Hogsmeade."

"I really hate shopping." She looked around. "Why isn't Dad taking me?"

"Your father is busy." Minerva rubbed her temple. "And he wants us to have a girls' day."

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow in a perfect imitation of her father. "_A girls' day_?" she asked incredulously.

"To… buy things that a growing lady needs."

"Dad!" Elizabeth yelled, heading to the dungeons.

"Elizabeth Evans, you come back here." Minerva ordered with almost no authority. She knew when she'd lost.

"Dad!" Elizabeth yelled again as she burst into his office.

"Elizabeth! What have I told you about knocking?" Severus looked up from the exam he was grading. "Are you alright? I thought you were going with Minerva."

Elizabeth shut the door. "Dad, I have a bra, alright? What do you think this is?" She pulled the neck of her shirt aside to show the strap.

"Well… your mother's portrait… she mentioned that you might need…" Severus rubbed the heel of his hand across his forehead.

"You could have asked me, instead of trying to force me to discuss underwear with my Head of House!"

"She's your grandmother! Don't girls usual do these things with their mothers?"

"Dad…" Elizabeth gave the exasperated sigh that he gave her all the time, and walked around his desk to put an arm around his shoulders. "What are you going to do when I start my period, huh? Or when you think you have to talk to me about sex?"

Severus sputtered. "Young lady, we will not discuss such things here." He fiddled with his quill. "Anyway, I have a book. I'm at least 80 percent sure that I have it, anyway."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Dad…"

Severus pulled her around to stand between his knees. "How do you know about… you know… starting… anyway?"

"School."

"What class is that? I've seen your schedule, and I don't see—

"No, Dad. Muggle school. In 4th grade, the nurse separated boys and girls and told us about starting our period and hygiene and stuff, and then the next two years we talked about sex and stuff."

"Merlin…" Severus looked uncomfortable. "And Muggle parents allow this?"

"I think they like that they don't have to do it," Elizabeth smirked. "Everyone else's mum came to the meeting and the dads went to the boys, except for Julie Simpson's dad came to the girl's meeting 'cause her mum died when we were in 2nd grade."

Severus sighed and set his reading glasses on the desk. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for things like that, lion. Not that I would have liked to sit there… but I would have done it."

"I know, Dad." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I thought you went to Muggle elementary school? How did you not know they had Sex Ed?"

Severus laughed. "I was born in 1960. We didn't speak of such things publicly then." He looked down at her. "So how did you get…" he cleared his throat. "I thought all you had were your cousin's old clothes. And I know we didn't buy anything like that in Diagon Alley this summer."

"You gave me pocket money, remember? I ordered by owl and had Madam Pomfrey size them for me." She grinned. "Hermione tried first, but that was a disaster, because she's not that great at Transfiguration. It's the one thing she couldn't do automatically, although she could probably do it now."

Severus marveled for a moment how her speech cadence was starting to resemble his own. Then he reminded himself to thank Poppy for sparing him that embarrassment. Then he thanked whatever god was listening that he only had one daughter.

_Hogwarts- 1981_

"_Father… I swear…" Severus felt as if he was going to sick up again. Sinking to his knees before Dumbledore's desk. "I'm so sorry. I never meant… I'm sorry."_

_Albus took a deep breath and assumed the fatherly role that was expected of him in times like these. It wasn't that he lacked affection for the young man, but he was not his father. Minerva was his mother, had developed the maternal relationship appropriate to that station. Father… Albus had resigned himself to title for the good of the wizarding world._

"_Come, son." Albus crouched beside the younger man. "I'm too old to stay down here for long. Stand up, Sev, we'll deal with this, don't worry." He pulled Severus up and into one of the chairs in front of the desk. _

"_I'm sorry…" Severus was whimpering into his hands._

"_Hush. It's alright." Albus enlarged the chair into a bench so that he could sit down. "Severus, it was a mistake. But it doesn't have to be a loss."_

"_I can't go back… can't get it off… He made me…" Severus' stomach revolted and he had to close his mouth to avoid vomiting. _

"_I know, Severus, I know." Albus awkwardly patted the other man on the back. "We'll get through this. I have a plan."_


	16. Chapter 16

"What was that?" Elizabeth asked Hermione as Neville fell to the floor as they left that night.

"Body Bind. Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry!"

A minute later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor— and the door was already ajar.

"Someone is here already," Elizabeth whispered. She turned to the other two beneath the cloak. "If you want to go back, I won't blame you," she said. "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid," said Ron. Elizabeth nodded, and pushed the door the rest of the way open. They peeked in to find a harp at the dog's feet, and the dog sniffing wildly, trying to find the invisible snack.

"Well, here goes nothing," Elizabeth raised Hagrid's flute to her lips and blew. It wasn't really a tune, but from the first note the beast's eyes began to droop. As she played, the dog tottered, then slumped to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing," Ron warned as they slipped out of the cloak and crept toward the trapdoor. Ron pulled it open. "I don't see anything… we'll have to drop down." Elizabeth pointed to herself, still playing. "You want to go first? Are you sure?" She nodded. "Alright. Give the flute to Hermione so she can keep him asleep." Elizabeth obeyed, Hermione taking over as quickly as possible.

Elizabeth looked down the opening. There was no sign of a bottom. _This, _she thought_, is definitely one of those things that Dad would say "no" about._ She lowered herself through the hole until she was hanging on by her fingertips. "If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?"

"Right," Ron answered.

"See you in a minute, I hope…" _Sorry, Dad, this is going to be a few more years off your life_. And she let go. Air rushed past her as she fell down, down, down and—

FLUMP. She plopped onto something soft. It felt like some sort of plant. "It's okay!" She called. "It's a soft landing, you can jump!" Ron arrived right next to her, and a moment later, Hermione, with a dog snapping at her heels, arrived as well.

Elizabeth suddenly felt tendrils around her ankles. She looked down wildly. The plant was wrapping itself around them.

"Stop moving!" Hermione ordered. "It's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," snarled Ron.

"It needs light and heat," Hermione mused. "It likes the dark and damp."

"So light a fire!" Elizabeth shouted.

"But there's no wood!"

"Have you gone mad?" Ron bellowed. "Are you a witch or not?"

"Oh, right!" She pulled out her wand, waved it, muttering something, and flames shot from her wand. The plant cringed away from them, allowing them to wriggle free.

They progressed through the corridor.

"Can you hear something?" Ron asked. "It sounds like wings."

"There's light ahead— I can see something moving."

Ahead, was a brightly lit chamber, full of small, bright birds. On the other side was a door.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" asked Ron.

"Probably," Elizabeth said quietly. "They don't look vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down at once… I'll run." She took a deep breath, ignoring Severus' voice in her head that demanded that she turn herself around and go back to bed, and sprinted across the room. Nothing happened, but when she pulled on the door handle, it was locked.

"Now what?"

"The birds… they can't be here just for decoration," Hermione suggested.

"Do that thing you used when we first found Fluffy," Ron turned to Hermione.

"Honestly, Ron, read the Charms book!" She pulled out her wand again and cast Alohomora… but nothing happened.

"They're not birds!" Elizabeth had been staring at the ceiling during the conversation. "They're keys! Winged keys! That must mean… Broomsticks! We've got to catch the key to the door!"

"But there are hundreds of them!"

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one— probably silver, like the handle," Ron said, looking at the door.

They each grabbed a broomstick and flew up, soaring into the cloud of keys. It took minutes of looking, but Elizabeth finally spotted a large silver key with a bent wing. "That one!" she called. "That big one— there! With bright blue wings. The feathers are crumpled on one side. We've got to close in on it!" Elizabeth stared at the key. "Ron, you come at it from above, Hermione, stay below and I'll try to catch it. Right, NOW!"

Ron dived, Hermione came upward, the key dodged the both, heading for the wall, where Elizabeth pinned it with a loud crunching noise.

Through the door, they saw the chessboard.

Elizabeth had never been one for chess, and as Ron directed the pieces, she was even less fond of the game. Even less so when Ron went crashing to the ground. Leaving him was the hardest part of the night so far, but Hermione hurried her out of the chamber, through another passageway. Right into a huge unconscious troll. Elizabeth was glad not to have to repeat the experience with the troll again, especially the look that was in her father's eyes when he saw her with it.

Through the next door was a table with seven differently shaped bottles standing on it in a line.

"Snape's trial," Hermione said. "What do we have to do?"

As soon as they were through the door, a purple fire sprung up behind them in the doorway. Black flames shot up in the doorway leading onward. They were trapped.

Hermione seized a roll of paper laying next the bottles. Elizabeth looked over her shoulder to read it:

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind, _

_Two of us will help you, whichever you would find, _

_One among us seven will let you move ahead, _

_Another will transport the drinker back instead, _

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine, _

_Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. _

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore, _

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four: _

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide _

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side; _

_Second, different are those who stand at either end, _

_But if you would move onward, neither is your friend; _

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size, _

_Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides; _

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right _

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

"It's logic," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes. "We're going to be stuck here forever."

"Of course not," Hermione said. "Everything we need is here on this paper. Seven bottles: three are poison; two are wine; one will get us safely through the black fire, and one will get us back through the purple." She smiled to herself. "Though I suppose it would be a real protection if they were all poison."

"Dad would never do that. It would be cheating. He likes to be smarter than everyone else, not a cheater."

"Alright then, give me a minute." She walked up and down the table. "Got it." She said. "The smallest bottle will get us through the black fire. But there isn't enough for both of us."

"Drink the one that will get you back to Ron," Elizabeth said. "Grab brooms from the key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy— send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him. I might be able to hold off whoever it is, but I'm most likely no match for him." Elizabeth glanced to her left and saw… a robe.

"What?" Hermione looked too.

"That's my Dad's robe."

"How can you tell?"

"The potion stains, it's one of his old ones."

"Maybe he left it here when he was setting up the potions?"

"Maybe… but he never takes his robe off when he's not at home. Even the other day when I was telling him that it would be easier to fight in Muggle clothes…" Elizabeth had a sick feeling in her stomach. He'd warned her not to come tonight. Because he was already going to be here.

"Drink," she said, handing Hermione the vial she'd indicated. "And go, quickly before it wears off."

"Be careful—

"GO!"

Hermione disappeared through the purple flame. Elizabeth picked up he small bottle and downed its contents. _Never take a potion that isn't from Madam Pomfrey or myself_, she heard Severus' voice. _Well, it's kind of from you, Dad._ She turned toward the black flames and walked through them, feeling nothing. On the other side, she saw two figures. She recognized her father's tall, thin form. But the other sent a stabbing pain through her scar that almost made her gasp. Quirrell.

"You!" Elizabeth shouted, not really that surprised after the night of the Quidditch match- grounding.

"Me," he said calmly. "I wondered whether I'd be meeting you here, Miss Evans."

She turned her eyes to the other man, who had been quiet, to realize that he was frozen, immobile, hovering a few inches off the floor.

"What did you do—

"To Severus?" Quirrell laughed. "Honestly, when I'd first worked out this plan, I was hoping that he would be a smoke screen. It would have been so useful if you'd feared him, suspected him. But I had no idea that the Bat would have a pup." He smirked. "Or that he would so obviously be a traitor to the Dark Lord. I've hung him there for a while until I decide what to do with him. Perhaps I'll have you cast a few Unforgivables, hmm?"

"Never!"

Quirrell laughed, a cold, evil sound. "You know, it would have been easier if you'd have let me in that night. You could have died in the comfort of your own home. But I suppose tonight will do just as well."

Quirrell snapped his fingers, and robes wrapped themselves around Elizabeth. "You're too nosy to live, Evans. Scurrying around the school on Halloween like that, for all I knew, you'd seen me coming to look at what was guarding the Stone."

"You let the troll in?"

"Certainly. I have a special gift with trolls— you must have seen what I did to the one in the chamber back there. Unfortunately your father, who is as meddlesome as you are, already suspected me. He went straight to the third floor to head me off— and not only did my troll fail to beat you to death, that three headed dog didn't even manage to bite Snape's leg off properly." He turned away. "Now, wait quietly. I need to examine this interesting mirror before I kill you."

It was only then that Elizabeth realized what was standing behind Quirrell. It was the Mirror of Erised.

"This mirror is the key to finding the Stone," Quirrell murmured, tapping his way around the frame. "Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this… but he's in London. And just as stupid as his adopted son." Quirrell gestured to Snape. "It's your fault, you know. If you hadn't been born, he would be on the right side of this fight right now. But he foolishly wanted to protect you, and so he's here. He might have bested me in our duel, but I've found the quickest way to distract him is to talk about you." He smirked. "And your Mudblood mother."

Elizabeth didn't understand the Mudblood comment, but it was low on her list of things to think about. "Let him go," she said, hand on her wand.

Quirrell laughed. "What are you going to do, baby Snape? Battle a full-grown wizard? Bound in ropes? I think not. Stand quietly before I send you to the corner like a toddler."

He returned to the mirror. "I see the Stone… I'm presenting it to my master… but where is it?"

Elizabeth struggled against the ropes, but they didn't give. She had to keep Quirrell from giving his full attention to the mirror.

"What happened to your stutter?"

"It's an act, stupid girl. I'm not as weak as I would like you to believe."

"But I heard you a few days ago, sobbing— I thought my Dad was threatening you."

"Sometimes," Quirrell said softly, "I find it hard to follow my master's instructions— he is a great wizard and I am weaker than he—

"You mean he was there in the classroom with you?"

"He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell. "I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Much like your father. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it…Since then, I've served him faithfully." Quirrell shivered. "He does not forgive mistakes easily. When I failed to steal the Stone from Gringotts, he was most displeased." Quirrell cursed under his breath, using a word that would have made Severus break out the soap.

"I don't understand… is the Stone inside the mirror? Should I break it?"

Elizabeth's mind was racing. She suddenly knew what she had to do, but not exactly how to do it.

She tried to edge to the left, to get in front of the glass without Quirrell noticing, but the ropes around her ankles were too tight: she tripped and fell over. Quirrell ignored her. He was still talking to himself. Then, to Elizabeth's horror, another voice seemed to come from Quirrell.

"Use the girl… Use the girl…"

Quirrell rounded on Elizabeth.

"Yes… Evans… come here." He released her bonds and Elizabeth rose to her feet. "Come here, look in the mirror, and tell me what you see."

She obeyed, seeing her reflection, pale and scared-looking at first. But a moment later, the reflection smiled at her. It put its hand into its pocket and pulled out a blood-red stone. It winked and put the Stone back in its pocket.

"Well? What do you see?"

"I see myself with Dumbledore… I've won the House Cup."

"She lies… She lies…"

"Evans! Tell me the truth! What did you just see?"

"Let me speak to her… face-to-face…"

Petrified, she watched as Quirrell reached up and began to unwrap his turban. The turban fell away, and he turned his back to her.

She would have screamed, but she couldn't make a sound. Where there would have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Elizabeth had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slips for nostrils, like a snake.

"Elizabeth Evans…" it whispered. "See what I have become? Mere shadow and vapor… I have form only when I can reside in another's body… but there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds…and once I have the Elixir of Life, I will be able to create a body of my own… Now… why don't you give me that Stone in your pocket? I might even let your father live, traitor that he is."

Elizabeth shook her head, unable to speak.

"Don't be a fool," snarled the face. "Better save your life and join me… or you will meet the same end as you mother… she died begging me for mercy, you know."

"LIAR!" Elizabeth shouted.

"How touching…" the face hissed. "I always value bravery… Yes, you useless brat, your mother was brave… I wanted to kill your father, really, but he was a coward, hiding away. Your mother needn't have died… she was trying to protect you… Now give me the Stone, unless you want her to have died in vain."

"NEVER!"

"SEIZE HER!" Quirrell's hand closed on her wrist. A sharp pain stabbed into her scar. She scream, struggling, and Quirrell let her go. The pain lessoned, but only enough to keep her from vomiting. She managed to look at Quirrell, and saw his face twisted in pain, looking at his fingers— they were blistering before her eyes.

"GET HER!" Quirrell lunged, throwing Elizabeth back, landing on top of her, screaming in his own agony.

"Master, I cannot hold her… my hands!"

"Then kill her, fool, and be done!"

Quirrell raised his wand, the killing curse on his lips, but Elizabeth reached up and grabbed her professor's face.

"AAAARGH!" Quirrel rolled off her, his face blistered, and then Elizabeth understood. Quirrell couldn't touch her bare skin. Her only chance was to keep hold of Quirrell, keeping him in enough pain to avoid being killed. She looked over at Severus, who was still hovering motionless.

"KILL HER! KILL HER!"

She grabbed Quirrell's arm, only to feel it pull away. She felt herself fall into blackness, the last image she saw was her father, suspended near death.

"Good afternoon, Elizabeth," Dumbledore's face was the only thing in her field of vision when she woke. She stared at him, then everything came back.

"The Stone! It was Quirrell! He's got the Stone! Dad! Where is he?"

"Calm yourself. You are a little behind the times." Albus brushed her hair back. "Quirrell does not have the Stone."

"But Dad!"

Albus pointed to the next bed. "He's right there; don't worry."

"How long have I been here?" Elizabeth's gaze was trained on Severus' sleeping form.

"Three days. Miss Granger and more than one Mr. Weasley will be most relieved you have come round. They've been worried."

"But Professor, the Stone—

"I see you are not to be distracted. Very well, the Stone. I arrived in time to prevent Professor Quirrell from taking it from you, although you were holding your own, I must say."

"Is Dad going to be—

"He'll be fine. He is fine. He's just sleeping. I promised I'd wake him if you woke, so I suppose—

Elizabeth was already out of her bed and onto her father's. "Dad, wake up." She shook his shoulder, rousing him from what had to be a Potion-induced sleep. "Dad!"

"Elizabeth? Oh, thank God." He pulled her down against his chest. "Are you alright?" He looked at Albus. "Is she alright?"

"Professor Dumbledore got there before Quirrell took the Stone—

"I don't care about the STONE, you foolish child!" Severus managed to sit up without losing his grip.

"The effort nearly killed you, Elizabeth." Albus said softly. "For one terrible moment, I was afraid it had." He sat on the bed she'd vacated. "But you look like you'll be fine now." Albus smiled. "I have to be going now, I'll be back later to check on you."

When they were alone, Elizabeth turned to Severus. "Dad? You're okay, right?"

"Am I physically alright? I suppose." Severus was sitting against the headboard, cradling his green-eyed child in his lap. "However, the fact that I spent an evening frozen and unable to help while I watched my daughter take on a sadistic Dark wizard, may mean I'll never fully recover."

"You could see?" Elizabeth's eyes went wide. When she was baiting Quirrell, she'd assumed her father would never know.

"Yes I could. Quirrell's intent, I would imagine, was that I would have to watch while the Dark Lord gathered what he needed to come back to power, waiting for him to kill me." Elizabeth felt his heart hammering in his chest. "But it turned into more torture than I could have imagined." He dropped his face into her hair. "My God, Elizabeth. I'm not sure I'll ever breathe comfortably again."

"She'd better be glad she's not my child, or she'd never sit comfortably again," The pair turned to look at Remus, who was standing in the door, looking like he had grabbed whatever clothes were closest to him. He crossed the room in two strides and sat on the edge of the bed, putting his hand on his goddaughter's back, knowing better than to try to take her from Severus.

"I'm sorry you saw it, Dad." Elizabeth burrowed into his pajama front.

Severus sighed. "Of course you are, my little daredevil. Always sorry you made me worry, but never sorry that you actually did what you shouldn't."

"Are you angry?" Elizabeth wasn't sorry for what she'd done; it was true. But she was distressed that she'd caused her father pain.

Severus was quiet for a while, rubbing her back and trying to breathe evenly. "I'm terrified, Elizabeth. You will have to wait for anger." He absently twisted a lock of her long dark hair. "But I would imagine that I will be significantly angry."

Elizabeth was quiet for a while, letting Severus rock her.

Severus looked down at the dark head below his chin, then over at Remus who was still sitting on the bed. "Lupin, shouldn't you be—

"I have some time, Sev, don't worry."

Severus sighed. "I need to get that… thing you… asked for." _Smooth, Sev. _"Here, take her and I'll be right back."

"Dad, I don't need—

"Not a word, Elizabeth. I'm not at all comfortable with you being out of reach of a family member right now. In fact, I'm limited in my comfort to your responsible family members, which clearly lets out your grandfather, who hired a crazed killer as a Defense professor." He handed the girl to Remus. "Stay with your godfather, I'll return in a moment." He waved his wand, transfiguring his pajamas into trousers and a black, button-down shirt, and strode from the room.

Lupin looked down at the child in his arms. "What do you have to say for yourself, trouble maker?"

"Angry?"

"Yes." Remus scowled. "Unfortunately for you, I was not in the chamber, nor was I informed of the danger you were in until you were out of it. So I don't have the hang up of terror that your father is feeling." He pushed the hair out of her face. "Elizabeth Rose, haven't we had a conversation about disrespecting your father?"

"Yes, sir."

"And did he order you to stay away from the third floor corridor that night?"

"Yes, sir."

"Do you have anything to say for yourself, young lady?"

"Remus, you don't have to—

"I'll tell you what I don't have to do, Elizabeth Rose. I don't have to stand by while you try to kill yourself. Your father is my best friend. You are the closest thing to a daughter that I'm likely to have. It's my job to step in when your father finds himself unable to fulfill his duties. So, when you do something as foolishly reckless as you did the other night, something that results in Severus being hurt or drained, it's up to me to make sure you see the error of your ways."

"I'm not sorry, Remus," Elizabeth tried to wriggled off his lap.

"You stay right where you are," Remus said sharply. "Your father wants nothing more than to baby you right now, young lady, but I can't let you think that what you did was acceptable. Severus went to Quirrell that night to protect you. He wanted to keep You Know Who from the Stone, because he knew how dangerous it would be if the Dark Lord returned. But, being the disobedient child you are, you decided to make his job even harder by going down there yourself."

"But he needed me!"

"He needed you to stay safe in your tower!" Remus growled. "He needed you to not throw his sacrifice in his face like you did. He needed you to survive, even if he didn't, because that is how much he loves you. He wanted nothing more than you to be safe. It doesn't matter if he was in danger. You shouldn't have been. How do you think he felt when he saw you there? Having to watch, not able to save you?"

Elizabeth swallowed. "I'm sorry he was there. But I'm not sorry I went. I had to keep Quirrell from getting the Stone. I had to protect Dad from the Dark Lord coming back."

"Elizabeth, your father can take care of himself. And if something had happened to him, he would much prefer that to something happening to you." Remus frowned. "I don't know how to get it through your head. You are not responsible for protecting anyone but yourself."

Elizabeth leaned her head forehead against his shoulder, looking like she was tired of listening to him, and mumbled something against his shirt. "Pardon?" Remus sat her back from his chest.

"I can't lose him too," Elizabeth said louder, frustrated tears forming in her eyes.

"Oh, Elizabeth," Remus sighed, letting his head fall against the back of the chair. "I know. I'm going to do what I can to protect him, and so is your grandfather. But you are the great hope of the Snape family, Elizabeth. We need you to protect yourself." He kissed her forehead. "I love you so much."

Elizabeth curled into his chest, closing her eyes. "I love you too."

Remus stroked her hair. "You are altogether too comfortable, young lady. It's almost as if you've forgotten how angry I am with you."

"She understands, Remus, don't worry." Severus returned, handing Lupin a vial of potion and scooping Elizabeth into his arms. "You're almost too tall for me to do this, Rosie." He carried her back to her bed and tucked her in. "Rest. We'll talk when you wake up. I'll be right here." He summoned a chair and settled in, stroking her hair as she slipped back into sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

When Elizabeth woke, Remus was gone and Severus was sitting in a chair beside her bed, reading.

"Did Remus leave?" Elizabeth asked sleepily.

"Mmmhmm," Severus finished the page he was on and laid the book aside. "And Poppy says you can go down to your room if you promise to rest." He pulled back the covers. "I'd like to get you down there and in bed so we can talk privately."

Elizabeth was more than willing to follow him to the floo. The last thing she wanted was to spend any more time in the hospital wing than strictly necessary.

When they appeared in their dungeon quarters, he ushered her to the kitchen table. "You need to eat something, and then back to bed with you."

"Dad?"

"Yes?" Severus summoned and house elf and ordered dinner.

"Can I ask you something? Maybe two somethings?"

Severus leaned against the counter. "I suppose."

"Voldemort is going to try other ways of coming back, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't gone, has he?"

Severus pressed his lips together for a moment. "He's still out there, I suppose. Perhaps looking for another body to share… not being truly alive, he cannot be killed."

"What will happen to Quirrell?"

"The Dark Lord left him to die; he shows just as little mercy to his followers as his enemies."

"He… Voldemort… He said he only killed Mum because she tried to stop him from killing me. But why would he want to kill me in the first place? Is that why my scar hurt? It hurt worse when I was down there."

"I thought you only had two questions." Severus raised an eyebrow.

"Dad."

"Elizabeth." Severus sighed. "Sometimes you forget how young you are. You don't need to know everything right now. In fact, it may make your life easier to not know some things."

"But why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"

"Your mother died to save you, Elizabeth. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign… to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is on your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good."

Severus was thankful for the arrival of dinner, so that he had a moment to compose his emotions. All this talk of Lily's death…

"Dad, Quirrell… or Voldemort… I don't remember who it was… called Mom a Mudblood—

"I don't ever want to hear that word out of your mouth." Severus pointed at the plate in front of her. "Eat your supper."

Elizabeth made her way to the table. "But what does it mean?"

Severus gritted his teeth. "It is a foul name for someone who is Muggle-born."

"Like Hermione?"

"Yes." Severus said simply.

"Does that mean I'm a … you know… since Mum was…?"

"Absolutely not," Severus said severely. "First of all, your mother was not anything associated with that curse word. If you must make the distinction, she was Muggle-born. You and I are half-blooded, because my father was a Muggle, and you have 3 Muggle grandparents."

"Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't," Severus served himself. "There are very few pure-blood wizarding families left. Some of them feel that they are superior to everyone else."

"Like the Malfoys?"

"Lucius certainly believes that idea, but I have hopes for his son." Severus poured himself tea. "Some pure-blood families don't necessarily feel that way. The Weasleys, for instance."

"They're pure-blooded?"

"Yes. If they felt the way Lucius does, Ron wouldn't be allowed to be friends with you, let alone Miss Granger. It's a foolish notion. Pure-blooded families will eventually have to marry outside other pure-bloods, or they'll die out."

"If Draco's dad is a Malfoy, what family was his mother in? I wouldn't think she was a Weasley."

Severus snorted. "No, the Malfoys see the Weasley's as blood traitors. In fact, people have been disowned from other purebred families for marrying Weasleys. Narcissa Malfoy was a member of the Black family. But there are no more Blacks now, at least not ones that carry the name," Severus lied smoothly, not wanting to have a discussion about the last surviving Black.

"So if I married someone with wizard parents, would our kids be pure-bloods?"

Severus paused. "Honestly, I'm not sure. But you have to remember, that the distinctions are all nonsense. They were created by people who wanted to feel superior to others. Really, there is no such thing as pure-blood or half-blood. If someone cut you open, your blood would look the same as Mr. Weasley's. And there's no argument to be made that pure-blood means magical power. The Longbottoms are as pure-blooded as the Malfoys, but Neville wouldn't stand a chance in against Miss Granger in a duel, I'd dare say." He smirked. "And James Potter was the last of the Potter family, but it didn't stop your mother from hexing him on a regular basis."

"You really didn't like him, did you?"

Severus grimaced. "James and I had a similar relationship to you and Mr. Malfoy, though I certainly hope that neither of you act the way James did." He smirked, "But I don't hate him. He was a prat most of our Hogwarts career… nearly killed me once. But I got the girl, so I suppose I win." He pointed to her food. "Eat."

Elizabeth smirked at her father's use of slang and obeyed, eating nearly half her chicken before asking another question. "Dad? What do you see when you look in the Mirror?"

"That my mother is wrong about my need of a haircut," Severus said evenly.

"Dad."

Severus smirked. "You should be more specific in your questions."

"Fine. Father, what do you see when you look in the Mirror of Erised?"

"Well, it certainly isn't my child being cheeky," Severus finished his dinner and waited for her to do the same.

"Seriously, Dad."

"Seriously? I've never looked into it."

"What would you see? What do you want more than anything?"

Severus was quiet for a minute. "I'm not sure, Miss Questions. I know what I think it would be, but sometimes we don't realize how badly we want something." He gestured to her plate. "Right now I want you to finish your dinner."

Elizabeth saw that she wasn't going to get any information out of her father that night, so she finished dinner and drained the last of her milk glass. She made a face. "I hate milk."

"It's good for you," Severus said calmly, as he vanished the dishes. Then he looked sternly at his daughter. "Go to your room and get ready for bed."

"I already have my pajamas on, dad."

"You need clean ones, you've been in those for 3 days. Take a bath, and brush your teeth. I'll be in shortly."

When Severus arrived, he found his daughter sitting in the armchair in her room, her hair wet.

"Since when do you sit in my chair?" Severus mock growled. Elizabeth shrugged, looking down at her slippers. Severus regarded her for a moment before speaking again. "Well? Move over." Elizabeth scooted against one of the arms, giving Severus room to sit down. She cuddled into his side, twisting herself into an awkward position, her right hip against the seat and her left leg thrown over his lap. Severus put one arm around her, pulling her head to rest on his shoulder. "Elizabeth, I need you to tell me the whole story."

"You won't like it."

"I don't expect to." Severus used his free hand to pat her leg. "Speak."

Elizabeth took a deep breath, and started the story. She told him about their trip to Hagrid's hut, and their attempts to find Albus. "I just knew that someone was going to take the Stone that night, Dad. I had to go stop it. Ron and Hermione insisted on coming. I had to protect you."

"You didn't know I was down there, Elizabeth. You saw me in the hallway, I'd told you to stay away."

"I didn't think you were down there. I just knew that Voldemort getting a hold of the Stone would mean…" she bit her lip. "I didn't want you to have to be a spy again."

Severus swore under his breath. "You foolish little monster." He pulled her closer to his side. "What am I going to do with you? It is certainly not your job to protect me, do you understand? I will handle whatever comes our way. It would be easier for me to do so if you would stop throwing yourself into dangerous situations." He rubbed his hand over his face. "Go on."

She described their trip from the common room, body-binding Neville, putting all three friends under the invisibility cloak—

"Where is it?" Severus said quietly.

"Hermione took it with her…"

"Accio, Elizabeth's cloak!" Nothing happened.

Severus frowned. "It doesn't respond to summoning spells. Wonderful." He looked at his daughter. "Tomorrow, I will retrieve it from Miss Granger, and it will go into my closet until I say otherwise." He gave her a look that dared her to argue. "Continue."

She told him about seeing the door open, and how she used Hagrid's flute to put Fluffy to sleep.

"You could have died!" Severus glared down at her.

Elizabeth rushed through the Devil's Snare and the flying keys, hoping to avoid further glaring. She told how Ron had won the chess game. "Grandma transfigured the pieces, right?"

Severus nodded. "You're lucky Mr. Weasley is such a gifted chess player. I wouldn't have expected it from someone who seems so impulsive, but perhaps I misjudged him." He made a mental note to do something nice for the child who'd helped his daughter avoid death in that challenge. Anonymously, of course.

"The troll was already defeated when we got there, so we just had to go through your task." Elizabeth looked up at her father. "Hermione figured it out in no time."

"And I thought it was complicated," Severus mused. "Broken by a 12 year old… I'm losing my touch."

"I thought it was hard," Elizabeth said. "But Hermione didn't really let me look at it for very long before she grabbed it. She's kind of a know-it-all."

"So I've gathered."

"She also said that a real defense would have been if all the vials were poison."

"That would be cheating," Severus said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"That's what I told her."

Severus sighed. "So you went through to the Mirror and Miss Granger went back?"

"She went to send an owl to Professor Dumbledore." She ducked her head. "And you know what happened after that."

Severus nodded. "That I do." He patted her hip, lost in thought for a moment. "When I saw you come in, I thought I must be hallucinating. I was sure that there was no way, after I had told you to stay away from the corridor, that you would has disobeyed me like that. No way that you would have thrown yourself at the man you knew to be a murder. Someone who had tried to kill you once. There was no way you would be that foolish!" His voice rose, and he closed his eyes, calming himself before he went on.

"And then I watched you not only talk to this killer, but fight him. The man who you then knew had tried to kill you this year. He attacked you, you defended yourself, and when you had an opportunity to get away, you didn't use it!" He had to pause and lower his voice again. "You attacked him, you foolish— Merlin, Elizabeth!"

"He couldn't hold on to me. The burning was hurting him. It was making him blistered—

"I should blister your backside, young lady! I really should build that dungeon and lock you up until I manage to beat some sense into your head!" His eyes blazed down at her. "You should be thankful that I'm not my father, Elizabeth Rose, or else I'd take be taking my belt to you." He looked at her sternly, "Not that the thought didn't cross my mind."

"I know you did this because you thought you were protecting me. I've never doubted that you have a noble heart. But the rule in this house is not to put yourself in danger. There is no 'except' clause in that rule. You. Never. Put. Yourself. In. Danger." He looked sad all of a sudden. "You broke that rule, Elizabeth Rose. It wasn't the first time, but it certainly was the most blatant. I can't reward that, no matter how honorable your intentions." He took a deep breath. "Do you have anything else to say for yourself?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "I know I shouldn't have done it, Dad. But you're all I have… I'm sorry."

Severus fought back the desire to hug her and put her to bed. He set her on her feet. "Since you couldn't seem to remember that there was no excuse for disobeying the danger rule, perhaps you need something else to help you remember." He positioned her between his knees.

"Dad, you already took my cloak—

"And you think that's an appropriate punishment?" Severus shook his head. "The cloak is only part of this, young lady. You will be grounded for two weeks when we get back to Spinner's End. No broom, double study sessions." Elizabeth groaned. "Extra chores, and you'll help me in the lab. I have ingredients that need to be cut that will make you wish I was making you scrub cauldrons. You won't see your cloak until I think you can handle it. Now," he turned her toward away from him and smacked the seat of her pajamas, hard. "Bed."

"Dad!"

"You're lucky that's all you're getting," he pointed at the bed. "Now."

When he tucked her in, she rolled over on her stomach. He snorted. "Drama queen," he teased lightly.

"Stings," she murmured sleepily.

"It's supposed to." He sat on the bed and rubbed her back. "You're lucky. Remus' mother had a nasty hairbrush that he offered to loan me." He smirked to himself. He'd never do that to her. Remus might. But it was all he could do to smack his angel child. He could never paddle her, let alone do anything his father used to do to him. Not that this fact kept him from feeling guilty that he'd had to punish her at all.

When she drifted off, he went back into the living room and firecalled Remus, who appeared a moment later through the floo, a bottle of firewhiskey in hand.

"The full moon is in two days, Sev. You think your kid could get in trouble at a more convenient time?" He held up the bottle. "I thought you might need some support."

"This is what comes from creating a child with a Gryffindor," Severus shook his head. "I should have foreseen this, but no, I was focused on how soft Lily's hair was."

"And she got your hair," Remus teased. "And, as much as you'd deny it, your complete disregard for personal safety." He grinned at his friend. "Face it, Snape, you've got a carbon copy of you in there."

"I've become my father, Remus," Severus put his head in his hands.

"Severus Snape!" Remus scowled. "Do you need me to explain to you why that is completely untrue?"

"Maybe." Severus watched as Remus poured him a shot.

Remus held it out of his grasp. "Listen to me, Snape. Among the many reasons that you are not your father, let's talk about the big three. One, you love your daughter, magic included. Two, he wouldn't have punished you for something like this, because he didn't care if you got hurt or not. And then for three, I suppose I need do some research." He gestured towards the door. "I don't hear any sobbing, so you clearly didn't beat her, unless it was to death."

"No."

"Then you, Severus Tobais Snape, bear only his name, not his temperament. You know damn well that after a "punishment" from Tobias, you couldn't walk."

"It still sucks," Severus used a word he often heard from the students. Uncouth, he thought, but aptly described the situation.

"You think Tobias felt that way after he hit you? Don't be stupid." Remus handed him the glass. "Just be glad you don't have more than one child. Can you imagine what Arthur and Molly deal with?"

"No more kids," Severus sighed. "You know she asked me what I see in the Mirror of Erised?"

"What did you tell her?"

"That I hadn't looked." He ran his hand through his hair. "I lied to my child, Remus. I have looked. I know what I see. I looked that night when Quirrell dragged me in front of it at wand point."

"And what did you see?"

"Lily and I, older. Adult Elizabeth. Grandchildren." Severus shook his head. "It never occurred to me that I'd want grandchildren."

"And you didn't want to tell her this… why?"

"When she looked in the Mirror the first time, she saw just herself and me. I didn't want her to think that I want her any way than she already is."

"You're cracked, old man." Remus rolled his eyes. "I thought Albus charmed the Mirror to give the stone to someone who wanted to find it, not use it. How come you didn't get it when you looked?"

Severus poured himself another shot. "Because I wanted it," Severus said softly. "I told Elizabeth I didn't. I even gave her a speech about how we all die. She was so certain that I didn't want it, but really I don't want to ever lose someone I love again… I would love to have the Stone. I'd love to use it."

Severus dropped his face back into his hands and, for the first time since that adventurous night, let the fact that he could have lost his family roll over him.


	18. Chapter 18

Severus was not surprised that nightmares came to both members of the Snape household that night. The first was right after Severus had recovered from his breakdown. He'd gone into the bathroom to shower, when Remus heard screaming from his goddaughter's room. Running in, he found her in a fight to the death with her pillow.

"Easy, love, it's okay." He wrapped his arms around her as she struggled. She appeared to be attempting to hex whoever was threatening her, but Remus managed to pull her out of the dream by rhythmically rocking her and rubbing her back.

"Dad?" She questioned, still half asleep.

"He'll be here soon; don't worry."

"Remus?"

"I'm right here," Remus picked her up and carried her to the armchair, sitting with her in his lap.

"Still mad at me?"

"No, Sevling. I'm not mad at you."

Elizabeth opened her eyes. "Sevling?"

Remus grinned. "You are so exactly like him. Like a little carbon copy." He smirked. "Your father used to call you Hatchling when you were small. Is that better?"

Elizabeth made a face. "Hatchling?"

"He's a snake. Snakes have hatchlings."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and snuggled closer to him.

"Remus?" Severus came through the door, his t-shirt and pajama bottoms obviously thrown over his still wet body. "I heard screaming—

"Sorry, Dad." Elizabeth looked at him bashfully.

"What did I tell you about apologizing for nightmares, Elizabeth Rose?" He crossed the room and crouched beside the chair, cupping her chin in one hand. "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay… Quirrell was torturing you."

Severus sighed. "Elizabeth." He picked her up from Remus' lap and tucked her back into bed.

"Dad, how come you carry me everywhere? I can walk."

"Reflex, I suppose, from when you couldn't." He smoothed the blankets. "You're safe here, lion. I'm fine, so is Remus and everyone else you love. You need a good night's sleep." He stroked her hair. "Close your eyes, hatchling," he teased. "You sleep, while I teach your godfather not to tell embarrassing stories about me."

"He's sitting in your chair," she mumbled.

"Don't worry, I'll get him." Severus smirked at Remus who made a show of getting more comfortable in the armchair. They watched the dark-haired girl drop back into sleep.

The two men went back into the living room. "It's going to be a long night," Severus sighed, grabbing a stack of exams off his desk. "If there's one, there's usually more."

"Do you want me to stay?"

Severus shook his head. "No, you go. You need to get ready for the full moon. I'll sleep in her room tonight."

"At least transfigure the chair into a cot, old friend. You aren't a young man anymore, you won't be able to get up in the morning if you keep sleeping like that."

"I'll be fine," Severus said, glancing back at the second bedroom. "I'm not sure I would have gotten much sleep anyway."

He was right.

That night, he dreamed over and over of Quirrell, Voldemort, Death Eaters; every one targeting his daughter. He was paralyzed in every dream.

After hours of dreaming and waking, dreaming and waking, he woke from a particularly gruesome nightmare to find an awake Elizabeth in his lap, shaking his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her. _This is my karma, _he thought to himself. _I avoided 10 years of worry only to have it all come full force in the last year._

The end of the year feast was eventful, at least in the fact that Gryffindor came from behind and won the House Cup. Severus waffled between being irritated that his father would reward his daughter's reckless antics and pride that she was a hero, this time less by chance. He supposed that he would have to get used to the idea. Elizabeth had been a broken record of apologies for disobeying and worrying him, but she'd staunchly refused to be sorry for the actual act. He'd threatened her with everything he could think of, but it did no good. _Stubborn little monster_, he thought fondly, watching her smack Ron over the head with a roll.

"Are you finished packing?" Severus asked after the feast. "I'm moving you down to the dungeons for a few days. I don't want you in the Tower alone."

"Yeah," Elizabeth followed him down the hall. "But I can stay tonight, right? We're having a party…"

Severus smirked. "I suppose so. There's no drinking at this party, is there?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "At Grandma's House party? I doubt it."

"I'll see you in the morning then."

"Dad?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Can I ride the train with Ron and Hermione tomorrow?"

"Why?" Severus was genuinely confused. "We're staying here for a few days before we go home."

"Never mind," Elizabeth turned away. "Goodnight."

"Elizabeth," Severus put a hand on her shoulder. "Come with me." He led her down the hall to an empty classroom. "Now," he said, pulling the door shut. "All I asked was why you wanted to ride the train. That hardly calls for the end of a conversation."

Elizabeth shrugged.

"Hatchling." Severus had started using the nickname, enjoying the fact that Elizabeth found it mortifying. "What is it?"

Elizabeth dug the toe of her shoe against the floor. "I won't see them for months," she said quietly.

Severus cocked his head to the side. "What are you talking about?" He put his hand on the top of her head. "Look at me." He looked at the sorrowful green eyes. "Elizabeth, you forget that your friends will only be a floo away. You'll see them often."

"But Hermione lives in a Muggle house…"

"If her parents need help setting up the floo, they need only ask." Severus internally cursed himself, but said the next bit anyway. "I will assist them if necessary."

"Really? Thank you, Dad!" He found himself with a child securely latched to his waistcoat.

"Alright, you little monster." He wrapped his arms around her and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "Go to your party." He patted her back. "Yes, you may ride the train tomorrow. I'll pick you up at King's Cross and we'll go to Diagon Alley. I need to pick up supplies to restock the school stores." He was rewarded with a grin and another thankful outpouring before he sent her on her way.

"DAD!" Elizabeth yelled as she got off the train at King's Cross.

"Elizabeth Rose, there is no need to shout," Severus scolded mildly.

"I didn't know if you saw me," Elizabeth explained in a lower voice, hugging him around the waist, pressing her cheek against the buttons that ran down his Muggle shirt.

"I had my Elizabeth-tracker activated," Severus smirked. "What's with the dramatic affection? I saw you not six hours ago. That's hardly a lengthy separation."

Elizabeth grinned. "You missed me, didn't you?"

"Of course I did, you cheeky brat." He put one hand on the back of her neck. "Let's go, before you further ruin my reputation."

They walked out on to the streets of London and headed toward the entrance to Diagon Alley. "Dinner first," Severus decided. "Let us hope that our dining experience is better than it was several months ago." He didn't relinquish his gentle grip on the nape of her neck.

"Dad, I can walk on my own, I promise I won't wander off."

"Would you rather I hold your hand?" He raised an eyebrow. "Or perhaps attach a toddler leash to you? Maybe the charm they use for criminals on parole would suffice? It stuns you if you move too far from a designated point."

"You're mean."

"True." Severus pulled her closer to him.

Once there were in the Leaky Cauldron, Severus pulled their robes out of his pocket, enlarged them, and handed Elizabeth's to her. She made a face.

"Do I have to?"

"While we're in Diagon Alley, yes. You know I don't care at home, but it matters here. There are people everywhere who want to take advantage of Muggles." He looked at her. "Where is your wand?"

Elizabeth pulled it out of her back pocket, sheepishly.

"Elizabeth…" Severus rubbed his face with his hand. "Where is your wand supposed to be?"

"In my hand or my sheath." Elizabeth recited.

"Not in your back pocket where it could be easily stolen or blow off your leg?"

"No, sir."

"Where is your sheath?"

"It my trunk."

"Then you'll have to carry it," Severus said firmly. "An unprotected wand could cause endless problems. You have a sheath for a reason."

"Dad! I'll look like a first year that just got their wand! No one carries it out."

"You won't become a second year if you keep arguing with me, young lady. Everyone else uses their sheath like their parents taught them. I have half a mind to lock it up when we get home if you can't learn to care for it."

"No, Dad, I promise!" Severus had promised her that she could use her wand for some summer lessons. He'd cleared the underage magic, not that she was likely to get caught anyway. Magical signatures tended to be lost in Wizarding houses.

"I've heard that before," Severus said sternly. "If I catch you breaking another wand rule, it's straight into the vault, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." Elizabeth looked at the ground, trying not to make it obvious to the world that she was being thoroughly scolded.

"Alright then." Severus held out his hand.

"Dad!"

"Consider it a punishment," he drawled.

"I'm nearly 12, you know." She grumbled as she took his offered hand.

"Perhaps when you turn 12, you will be old enough to take care of your wand. I would have thought that you were old enough a year ago, but I was incorrect."

Luckily, they only needed to walk a few steps to an empty table where he released her with a smirk. They sat and ordered, the food arriving almost immediately. Severus shook his head and pointed his wand at her glass, changing it from pumpkin juice to milk.

"Gross," Elizabeth made a face.

"You need the calcium. You want to get taller, don't you?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "You're _really_ tall, but I don't know how tall Mum was. Maybe I'm just going to be short."

"Your mother was tall as well. You may very well be short, but I don't think you will be." He sighed, and pointed his wand again. "Try that."

Elizabeth sipped tentatively before looking up at him. "It tastes like cookies!"

"Don't expect it all the time," Severus said firmly. "I just don't fancy a long, drawn-out process right now."

"Thank you, Dad."

Severus nodded. "Eat. I need to go to the Apothecary, and then we need to stop by Scribbulus. You need parchment for summer assignments. Maybe a new quill or two."

"We could get that later," Elizabeth poked at what was left of her dinner.

"Nice try," Severus smirked. "But you have two weeks of chores and homework ahead of you, so you might as well have supplies."

"Does it have to be two weeks?"

"Yes. And if you ask again, it'll be three." Severus finished his meal. "You are going to get up, have breakfast, do chores and help in the lab until lunch, study until dinner, and then go to bed."

Elizabeth groaned, and Severus rolled his eyes. "Let's go," he dropped money on the table and stood, holding out his hand.

The house at Spinner's End was exactly the way she remembered it when they arrived a few days later. "Unpack, please," Severus said the morning they returned. "And then come down to the lab and you can start your sentence."

"Yes, sir." Elizabeth dragged her feet up the stairs and Severus watched her go. He'd considered not starting her grounding until the next day, but he wanted it to be over as much as she did. _You really should start thinking_, he lectured himself. _Two weeks? Do you know how long that is?_

When she joined him in the lab half an hour later, he put her to work chopping flobberworms. She worked quietly, and he didn't push until they'd worked for almost an hour. It was unlike his daughter to be quiet, even when she was in trouble. Usually she would babble at him, trying to assure that he would still speak to her.

Severus wasn't sure if he should take her silence as a positive move forward in her trusting him, or as something being wrong. She was usually a bit subdued when grounded, a little skittish around him as if, just because she was grounded, he didn't like her. He'd told her over and over that discipline didn't mean he was ignoring her. She never quite seemed to get it. He imagined it was the years of being trapped and ignored in her cupboard.

He finished the potion he was working on, and bottled the results. He sat on his stool and turned to his diligently-working offspring. "Alright, monster. Come here." She put down her work and washed her hands, discarding the apron she'd been wearing before coming to stand in front of him.

"Yes, sir?"

"Is there a reason that you've decided to deny me your constant chatter this morning?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "No, sir."

"I see." Severus frowned. "Are you feeling well?" He put his hand on her forehead, but she was cool.

"I'm fine, sir."

Severus narrowed his eyes. "Follow me." He stood up and ushered her out of the lab and to the living room where he sat on the sofa and situated her between his knees. "I'm going to give you one chance, my girl, to tell me the truth. You've been silent, obedient, and 'sir'ing me until my ears bleed. So 'spill it' as the kids would say." He crossed his arms and waited.

Elizabeth shifted from foot to foot before finally blurting out, "I just wanted to be good!"

"Hatchling…" Severus sat her on his knee. "You are good."

"No I'm not," she said quietly, staring at her hands. "I don't listen to you, and that makes you upset."

Severus shook his head. "Believe me, Elizabeth, parents don't discard their children for not listening. Having selective hearing is understandable, given your age." He brushed her hair back.

"You don't upset me. Never think that I want you to be any other way than the way you are. You're brave and loyal, and while the fact that those qualities manifest themselves as insane acts of danger makes me crazy, it's my fear that makes me upset, not you. If I wanted a quiet, obedient, perfectly-behaved child, I would have married someone other than your mother. Or, better yet, I would have bought myself a doll." Elizabeth giggled at the thought of her father with a doll. "However, I did neither of those things, and I ended up with you, thank Merlin."

He jostled her a little. "I like you just the way you are, understand?" He kissed her forehead. "You're going to mess up, drive me crazy, even make me angry until the day I die, I'm sure. But that doesn't mean you should make yourself miserable. It's all part of the learning process. You don't stop living to avoid making a mistake."

"Let's have lunch. Then you can start your summer homework." He raised an eyebrow. "That would be your cue to complain, hatchling."

Elizabeth smiled a little before wrapping her arms around his neck. "Do I have to do Potions?"

Severus chuckled. "Not today. I'll force that horror on you another day."

The two weeks went by slowly, and by the end of it, Severus had decided to never ground her again. Or at least not for that long. Or at least not in the summer. On her first day of freedom, she flew out of bed and down to the breakfast table.

"Whoa, whirlwind!" Severus smirked as he filled her plate. "Where's the fire?"

"Can I go flying today?"

Severus finished serving and sat back in his chair, pretending to consider the point. "I don't know… are you sure you want to go today? I've always thought that you didn't really like flying."

"Dad!"

He chuckled. "I've set up wards around the property. They line up with the physical fence, and extend to the tops of the trees. If you stay within them, the Muggles won't see you." He summoned her broom. "Try to keep the death-defying stunts to a minimum."

"Thank you!" She jumped up, only to have her broom pulled out of her reach.

"Finish your breakfast, and then you may go." He watched her wolf down her eggs and toast, hoping that he wouldn't have to perform some kind of choking rescue. Finishing, she jumped back up, grabbed her broom and raced outside.

Severus watched her from the kitchen window. He fought to keep from shouting at her to stop the barrel rolling she was doing. Instead he cast a cushioning charm and a bouncing charm on the ground. At least if she fell, she wouldn't get hurt.

Not that she would fall. His daughter was a natural on a broom; he had to admit. After a while he took his coffee and Daily Prophet and went to his armchair in the living room. There was a plate glass window from which he could see the garden. Occasionally he glanced up from his paper to check that she was still within the wards.

Two hours later, she was still flying. He'd moved on to working on an article he was writing for "The Potion Master" one of the Potion journals. When it was almost time for lunch, an owl flew through the open kitchen window, dropping a letter addressed in green on the table. Severus gave the bird a treat from the bowl on the coffee table before picking it up.

_To the Parent(s)/Guardian(s) of Elizabeth Evans_

_Snape Residence_

_Spinner's End_

_Marks_, he thought to himself. He opened the envelope and perused the contents.

**Year 1- Spring Term Grading Report**

**Elizabeth Rose Evans**

**Astronomy **_**E **_

**Charms **_**O**_

**DADA **_** O**_

**Herbology E**

**History of Magic A**

**Potions A**

**Transfiguration A**

Elizabeth came vaulting through the door. "Can I go back out after lunch?"

"Come here a moment," Severus said. "I just received your report card."

Elizabeth's face went white. She dragged her feet over to his side, staring at the floor. Severus considered her for a moment. "Elizabeth," he said gently, "What is it?" Elizabeth shrugged. He tried to hide his smile. Clearly she thought she'd done badly.

"Elizabeth, what do I do for a living?"

Elizabeth looked at him like he was crazy. "You're a teacher."

"At Hogwarts, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"That is the institution that you attend, is it not?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then doesn't it stand to reason that I would have been aware of your marks long before this letter arrived?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "I guess."

"And wouldn't it be even more reasonable that if I was upset about the aforementioned marks, that I would have made that known to you before now?"

Elizabeth pulled her eyes up to his. "Maybe."

"Not maybe. If I thought you weren't performing to standards, I would have questioned you long before this. As a professional courtesy, all your teachers keep me updated."

Elizabeth sat on the arm of the chair. Severus rolled his eyes and pulled her onto his lap. "Don't sit on the arms of the furniture." He handed her the letter. She read it quickly. "But I got As in—

"Yes, you did." Severus raised an eyebrow. "Hatchling, I'm proud of you."

Elizabeth looked at him, confused. "But you said that anything less than an E—

"I did indeed." Severus sighed. "Elizabeth, I want you to do your best. If I thought for a moment that you were slacking in your school work, you would have heard from me." He pulled her ponytail playfully. "This has been a difficult transition, I know. I don't expect anything from you except your best. You're bound to have talents in some subjects and not others. While I don't expect to ever see a failing grade from you," he looked stern at that, "I'm not going to be angry about an 'A' if that was your best work."

"However," he said, leveling his stare into her green eyes. "If I catch you willfully slacking, or failing to ask for help when you need it, we are going to have issues, understand?" She nodded. "Good. I'd hate to pull you off the Quidditch team for grades," he said wickedly. Her eyes opened wide.

"You wouldn't!"

"If you forget the reason why you're in school? Of course I would." He set her on her feet. "But you need not worry about that, as long as you keep your focus." He waved his wand, sending the report card to a file upstairs. "Let's have lunch," he said, steering her towards the kitchen. "And then, yes, you can go back out, my little daredevil."

Severus let her fly for hours after lunch, checking on her occasionally until he looked out and saw her falling toward the ground. He reached for his wand, but she was already bouncing off the charmed ground and back onto her broom. He watched, mystified, as she fell backwards again, bouncing off the ground and landing back on her broom, like she was on a Muggle trampoline.

He went outside into the summer air, listening to his daughter laugh hysterically as she bounced. "Elizabeth!"

She landed on her broom again and looked down at him. "Hi, Dad."

"Hi, yourself. Land, please." He pointed to a spot just in front of him. She landed gracefully. "Is it dinner time?"

"Yes. And time for you to stop willfully throwing yourself off your broom."

"It's bouncy!"

"It's supposed to be a safety feature, hatchling. Not an amusement park ride." He pointed towards the house. "Go wash up."

"Can I go back out after dinner?" She staggered towards the door, clearly tired.

"We'll see," Severus said, steering her into the house. _She'll be lucky to get through her dinner, _he thought. He sat her at the table and placed food in front of her. He watched as she managed to eat about half her dinner before almost nodded off into her soup. "Go take a bath and get ready for bed."

"Dad!" Her protest was weak.

"You'll have plenty of flying time tomorrow," he said gently. "Go on, before I have a soup-covered child." He watched as she dragged herself up the stairs and listened as the water started running in the bathroom. Afraid she might fall asleep in the bath, he went up a few minutes later to check on her. Knocking on the door, he confirmed that she was still awake, and waited until she came out, dressed in her pajamas. "Let's get you into bed."

"Dad! It's so early."

He smirked as her protests were interrupted by a yawn. "I'll tell you what." He cast a drying charm on her hair. "If you promise to lie quietly on the sofa, you can come down for awhile."

He sat on the sofa and flipped on the Muggle news. He didn't watch much television, but the set was still in the house from his father, and he occasionally liked to check up what was going on in the Muggle world. Elizabeth stretched out beside him. He put a pillow under her head. "Roll over," he said gently, waiting until she was on her stomach so he could rub her back.

"That's going to make me fall asleep," she protested.

"It shouldn't, unless you're tired." He carded his hand through her hair while he watched Muggles shoot each other. _And we think unforgiveables are bad,_ he thought.

It took almost no time for Severus to hear Elizabeth's breathing even out. He let her lie there until the news ended. He hated to move her, but he could tell by the way she was melted into the cushions that she wouldn't notice being carried.


	19. Chapter 19

"But Mrs. Weasley invited me!" Elizabeth scowled.

"And you may go for the day," Severus barely glanced up from his newspaper.

"Hermione's parents are letting her stay!" The green-eyed tween was on the verge of stomping her foot. She resisted, knowing that Severus hated tantrum behavior, but she was close to the edge.

"And if Hermione's father is fine with her staying the night in the house full of boys, then that is his prerogative. I, however, am not comfortable with it."

"We're together in the dorm all the time!"

"You aren't in each other's dorms, just the common room."

"DAD!"

"Elizabeth, right now you are allowed to go for the day. If you continue to act the way you are, you won't be going at all."

Elizabeth turned on her heel and stomped up the stairs. He heard her door slam and sighed. _These are times I need you, Lil._ He toyed with the idea of going upstairs and scolding her for the slammed door, but he knew his child's temper. She wasn't going to listen until she was good and ready. As long as she stayed in her room, he'd let her stew for a while. He certainly wasn't going to bend on this "sleep-over" nonsense. The Grangers were clearly star struck by the wizarding world into allowing their daughter to spend the night in the house full of young men.

He heard her door open and she stomped back down. "What if I were friends with Ginny, huh? Would you not let me go over there just because she has brothers?"

Severus folded the paper. "Elizabeth, you are allowed to go over there. You are not allowed to spend the night. I won't bend on this, so you can cease this tantrum."

"But the sleeping over part is the fun part!" Tears threatened. He was going to make her come home when everyone else got to stay. It wasn't fair.

"You'll just have to have fun before dinner then," Severus said, standing. "If you want to have Miss Granger overnight this summer, that's fine. Now," he started out of the room. "I'm going to make dinner. Wash your hands and you can set the table."

When he was out of the room, Elizabeth eyed the floo. She needed to talk to Remus. He could convince her father to be more reasonable.

She wasn't supposed to use the floo without permission, but she was just going to Remus'. Surely it would be okay…

"Lupin's house" she said, tossing the powder into the flame and stepping through.

"Remus?" The living room of the little cottage was quiet. Severus said that Remus liked to live out away from people. The cottage was nowhere near a town.

She called his name again, but she didn't hear an answer. A quick sweep through the kitchen and bedroom did not produce her godfather. She was almost ready to give up and return to the floo when she heard a crash from the basement.

"Remus?" She tried the basement door, but it was locked. Pressing her ear against the door, she heard what might have been a growl, and shuffling. "Remus?" She called again, starting to get worried. Was her godfather trapped in the basement with a wild animal?

She pulled her wand from the sheath on her arm. "Alohomora," she mimicked Hermione as best she could. The door clicked open, and she crept down the stairs. "Remus?"

Suddenly, two things happened. First, she found herself face to face with a snarling, full sized wolf. Second, someone grabbed the back of her shirt and, putting two strong arms around her shoulders, apparated her away.

Severus held her hair as she vomited into the bucket he conjured. "Serves you right, you obnoxious brat." He rubbed her back. "I was planning on helping you acclimate to apparation gradually, but you insisted on almost getting yourself killed. Again." When she finished emptying her stomach, he handed her a glass of water. "Rinse."

After banished the bucket and glass, he loomed over her with a fury she'd never seen.

"You never leave this house without my permission, Elizabeth Rose!" His stare was fierce. "Anything could have happened to you!"

"I'm sorry, Dad, please…"

"You are too old to throw tantrums like this, young lady! Especially when your childish antics put you in harm's way!"

"Dad! I'm sorry!"

"I believe I told you multiple times to change your attitude. And you ignored that. This behavior is not acceptable!" He gritted his teeth. "Your little fit nearly cost you your life!"

Elizabeth broke down, the terror of facing the wolf back full force. "I'm sorry, Dad, really! I'll never do it again! I promise!"

"You had better not." He snapped his fingers and summoned her broom. "This is mine until I say otherwise. Don't expect it any time soon." He sent it away with a wave of his hand to the locked cabinet in his study. Elizabeth couldn't help but be impressed with his wandless magic, no matter how much trouble she was in.

"Yes, sir." She stared at the floor.

Severus let out the breath he'd been holding and sank onto the sofa, gesturing for her to join him. "Merlin, Elizabeth. Where did the spoiled brat side come from? You certainly weren't raised that way." He looked into the watery green eyes.

"I don't know," she said softly, leaning her face into his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"I know you're sorry now," Severus said. "Coming face to face with a werewolf will do that. But that doesn't explain why you overreacted to not being able to sleep over at the Weasley's." He shifted her so he could see her face. "I'd like an explanation, Elizabeth."

"I don't know… I just… don't like to be boxed in. I kind of lost it."

"Lost it." Severus frowned. "I suppose that's what we could call it."

"I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to be brat."

The older wizard sighed. "Nonetheless, my girl, you were. Now you can be as angry with me as you want, but you are never to leave this house without asking. And you most certainly don't use the floo without me."

"I really am sorry."

"I know." Severus kissed the top of her head. "You scared the hell out of me, hatchling."

Elizabeth relaxed. If he was calling her 'hatchling', he wasn't still angry. "Dad?"

"Hmm?"

"That was a werewolf?"

"Yes."

"Why does Remus have a werewolf in his basement?"

Severus grimaced. "He's coming over tomorrow. You can explain to him your little adventure and then ask him that question."

"He's going to be mad."

"Well, you did trespass in his house. Although I'm going to have a conversation with him about locking his basement door."

"He locked it," Elizabeth said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"I unlocked the door," Elizabeth whispered. "I heard noises. I thought he was in trouble."

"And, naturally, you were the one to help him." Severus shook his head. "Give me your wand."

Elizabeth eyed him nervously. "You said I shouldn't give it to anyone."

"Nice try. Hand it over." He held out his hand and Elizabeth set her wand in it. "You can have this back when you prove you can handle it." He pressed his lips together. "You will apologize to your godfather for wandering about his house uninvited when you see him tomorrow."

"Do I have to tell him why I was there?"

"That you were acting like a toddler who didn't get her own way? I'm not sure how else you would explain your presence."

"He won't like it."

"I can't imagine that he will." Severus set her on her feet. "Now, your dinner is under a warming charm, not that you deserve it. Eat, so that I can tuck you in to bed. And perhaps place a sticking charm to assure that you stay."

"Dad!"

"Are you going? Or do I have to hold your hand?" Severus smirked as she ran ahead of him into the kitchen. _Tomorrow_, he thought to himself, _starts the research on how to skip the teenage years._

"I had the door locked, I swear, Sev. I don't know how she—

"I know, Remus, don't worry. My wayward child seems to think that the underage magic restrictions don't apply to her." Severus turned back to the eggs. "Are you hungry? We have plenty."

"Thank you." Remus looked around. "Where is the brat?"

"Still asleep. You want to go up? I told her she had to explain why she broke into your house. And then I suppose we need to explain why there was a wolf in your basement."

Remus shook his head. "She could have been killed." He headed for the stairs. "I'll bring her down. I'm not explaining this alone."

Upstairs, he found her asleep on her stomach. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he smoothed her hair. "Wake up, little felon."

"Remus?" She rolled over on her back and sat up, staring at the comforter.

"So you had an adventure yesterday." He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir." Remus was quiet, waiting. "I was… I wanted to talk to you."

"So you maturely asked your father for permission to leave the house?"

"No." She hugged her knees to her chest. "I just went."

"Ah. And does that fall in with the respect you are supposed to be giving your father?" Remus raised an eyebrow.

"No, sir."

Remus nodded. "I assume your father punished you?"

Elizabeth grimaced. "He took my broom."

Remus looked at her seriously. "Elizabeth, you are welcome at my home anytime. But you have to have permission from your father. You have got to stop thinking that you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." He stood and opened his arms for the girl to join him on the floor.

"Moony."

"Yes?" Remus put his arm around her as they walked back down the stairs.

"How long have you been a werewolf?"

Remus stopped dead in his tracks. "Pardon me?" His mouth went dry.

"The werewolf in your basement. It was you, wasn't it? Moony. The full moon… it makes sense."

Remus collected himself and guided her the rest of the way down the stairs. "Tell your father what you just asked me," he directed, gesturing to Severus, who was plating the eggs.

She cocked her head to the side. "About you being a werewolf?"

"I thought you wanted to do this together?" Severus levitated the plates to the table.

"I did. She figured it out." Remus sat heavily in a chair while Elizabeth sat across from him.

"Dad? Can you do that thing with my milk?"

Severus rolled his eyes, and waved his wand. "I'm spoiling you, you know."

"Thank you." Elizabeth happily drank the cookie-flavored milk.

Remus studied his eggs, ignoring the milk conversation. The three ate quietly, the older wizards sending each other looks across the table. When they'd finished, Severus cleared the table and then his throat. "Elizabeth, go into the living room, please. Remus and I need to talk."

Elizabeth shrugged and went, wondering if there were still cartoons on television.

"What happened?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know. One minute I'm scolding about leaving the house without asking you, and the next she's asking me how long I've been a werewolf." Remus shook his head. "She's dangerous, you know. Brains and absolutely no verbal filter. She's a security nightmare. We shouldn't bring her to any Order meetings."

"Hadn't planned on it." Severus sighed. "Did you answer the question?"

"No. I did what my dad used to do when I asked him questions. I pretended not to hear it and bolted for the only other person in the house."

"So… I'm your mother in this scenario?"

"Never mind. The point is that I did not answer the question. I though we could sit her down and talk to her together."

Severus smirked. "Afraid of a 12 year old."

"She's not 12 yet."

Severus rolled his eyes. "Regardless. I can already see my child's lack of fear instinct is going to be a problem here. I expected her to have nightmares last night, but she slept fine. I had nightmares for weeks after meeting 'Moony' for the first time, and I had nightmares last night after meeting him this time." He pointed to the living room. "Let's get this over with."

"I think you're too worried," Remus followed his friend. "She doesn't seem concerned."

"That's why I'm worried." Severus led the way into the living room. Elizabeth was sprawled on the sofa still in her pajamas. The television was playing some horrible, annoying, brightly colored thing that gave Severus a headache. "Hatchling, turn that off, please. Remus and I need to talk to you."

Elizabeth switched off the television and looked expectantly at the older wizards. They sat on either side of her and Severus wondered for a moment if this is what two-parent parenting felt like.

"Elizabeth," Remus started. "When I was very young, I was bitten by a werewolf that had a vendetta against my father." He searched her eyes for shock, and found none. "That means that during the full moon, I transform into a werewolf. You saw me as a werewolf last night."

Elizabeth nodded. "Does it hurt?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Well… it used to. My transformations when I was a child were very painful. I used the basement and then the shrieking shack in Hogsmeade to keep myself away from people. I didn't have anyone to bite, and so I bit and scratched myself instead."

"Fred says that the shrieking shack used to be haunted, but no one has heard the spirits lately."

"That's because I haven't used it since my Hogwarts days." Remus smiled a little, then sobered. "Elizabeth, it is very important that you understand how dangerous I am when I have transformed. You must never be around me during that time again, do you understand?"

Elizabeth frowned. "You weren't going to hurt me."

Severus groaned, but Remus held firm. "Elizabeth Rose, you listen to me. I don't care what you think you know. You are not to be near me during the full moon for any reason. I could have snapped your neck last night."

"But you didn't. You were coming over to me, but you weren't going to hurt me."

Remus sighed and glared at Severus, who, instead of helping, was making a string of exasperated faces. "Your father makes a potion that allows me to keep some of my mind, Elizabeth. But only enough so that I don't harm myself. It lessens the physical and mental toll. But it doesn't keep me from being a danger. Especially for other people." He glared at Severus. "Snape, you better—

Severus cleared his throat. "Elizabeth, even if we didn't care that you could get hurt, which we do, it would still be important that you stay away." He looked solemnly at his daughter. "The penalty for a werewolf that bites a human is death." He knew that knowledge, if not her own safety, would stop her from going near Moony during the full moon. "You are both too important to me to let something happen."

Remus put his arm around her. "Being a werewolf is… complicated. There are very few people who know what I am. Your father, Dumbledore, McGonagall. Now you. Everyone else who knew is dead or…" A shadow passed over Remus' face. His eyes met Severus', and then he looked away. "The point is that you are now a member of an exclusive club. It's not something to share with anyone. I wish you didn't have to know, frankly. There are a lot of people who believe that I shouldn't be allowed to live, much less be around people."

"That's stupid!"

Remus pressed his lips together for a moment. "You understand the fear, though, right?"

Elizabeth shrugged and cuddled closer to his side. "Stupid."

Severus reached over to smooth her hair.

"Wait." Elizabeth looked from Severus to Remus and back again. "The werewolf under the Whomping Willow… the one that almost killed you," she looked at Severus. "That was you, wasn't it?" She looked back at Remus.

"That was before the Wolfsbane," Remus said quietly.

"How did you know about that?" Severus asked, sure that he'd never told her the story.

"Grandma was explaining why you hate James Potter."

"Your grandmother shouldn't be talking to you about such things." Severus said crossly. "I have no trouble with the adult James grew into. It was merely a childish rivalry. I certainly don't hate him."

"I hate Draco," Elizabeth hugged her knees to her chest.

"Hate is too strong an emotion to waste on another child, Elizabeth." Severus scolded gently. "You just steer clear of Mr. Malfoy. The child has his own demons to deal with."

"You can waste a lot of time on arguments, Sevling." Remus squeezed her shoulder. "Remember that our community is small. Relationships you have now will affect the rest of your life."

Both men were quiet for a moment, before Severus cleared his throat. "Go get dressed, hatchling. I thought we'd go to the zoo today."

"Really?" Elizabeth jumped up.

Severus smirked. "Unless you don't want to…"

"I do!" Elizabeth threw her arms around his neck. Every summer, Dudley went to the zoo with her aunt and uncle, and she was left behind at home. She'd always wanted to see the animals, but she never got to go. "I'm sorry," she whispered into his shoulder.

"For what, Elizabeth?" Severus smoothed her hair and looked at Remus, confused.

"For being a brat yesterday," She mumbled into his robes. "I just haven't ever been to a sleepover."

Severus sighed. "Hatchling, if you want to have Miss Granger over to spend the night sometime this summer, you can do that. I'm just not comfortable with this particular activity."

"I know. I'm sorry."

He hugged her hard. "Go get dressed. Muggle clothes, of course." She scampered off up the stairs.

"Sleepover?" Remus asked. "Is that what you two fought about yesterday?"

Severus frowned. "I do not fight with my daughter. It's useless to fight with a nearly-teenager."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Okay, is that what she was upset about yesterday?"

"Ronald Weasley has invited Elizabeth and Miss Granger for the day and a sleepover this weekend." He ran a hand through his hair. "All of Molly's boys are going to be home that weekend. I just don't think it's appropriate for her to sleep in a house full of boys."

"Are she and Ron… I don't know. Whatever you do at 11? Dating? Going out?"

Severus chuckled. "I told her no boys until she's 16. But I don't think Ronald is the Weasley boy I need to worry about."

"Really? I don't know all of them…" Remus looked as if her were making a list in his head. "Which one is the next oldest?"

"The twins. Fred and George. They'll be fourth years next year, and Fred has taken a shine to Elizabeth."

"Two years difference is a lot when you're that age." Remus said quietly. "Aren't the Weasley twins the new Marauders?"

"They aren't quite as destructive. Fred seems to have a good head on his shoulders. I think he was more upset with her over the dragon incident than I was." He stood and straightened his shirt. "I'm just not sure that letting my daughter spend the night at her boyfriend's house would win me parent of the year."

"Probably not. I trust Molly, but kids are kids… we weren't above pushing the limits when we were Fred's age."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"In fact, I think we were fourth years when I walked in on you are Lily in the Potions store room—

"I get the point, Lupin," Severus growled, but the memory made him smile a bit.

Elizabeth bounded back down the stairs then, dressed in jeans and a green top.

"Where's your wand?" Remus asked, standing and transfiguring his clothing.

"Dad locked it up," Elizabeth said guiltily.

"Where it will stay, along with your cloak until school starts. Your broom might very well stay locked up for that long too, if you don't show me you can be responsible." Severus said firmly. He had his own wand out. "Come here, let me put a sun charm on you."

"I haven't been to the zoo in probably 25 years," Remus mused. "Do they have food there?"

Elizabeth shrugged while Severus waved his wand over her. "I don't know. I've never been. I've always wanted to, though."

"Well today you shall. And yes, Remus, I believe they have food. Do we need anything else?" Severus asked Elizabeth, who shook her head. He looked her over thoughtfully. "You need a haircut. Perhaps later today. I swear your hair grows two feet every time I turn my back."

"It likes to be this length," Elizabeth defended, fingering the ends of the waist-length dark hair.

"You certainly got my hair," Severus said fondly. "Let's go."

Severus reached for her arm to apparate, but Elizabeth stepped back. "I don't want to."

"I thought you wanted to go," Remus said, confused.

"She means she doesn't want to apparate," Severus reached for her again, his time with both hands. "Okay, hatchling, it's okay." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. He looked over her at Remus. "She hates apparating, it makes her sick."

"Everyone gets sick the first time," Remus said, shrugging.

"She's done it twice, she was sick both times. And not like most people are. Worse than that." Severus released her. "We'll take the floo to the Camden Town station… we can walk from there, or I think there's a bus."

"You're alright in the floo?" Remus asked, ruffling his goddaughter's hair.

"It's dirty," she wrinkled her nose. "But it doesn't make me sick."

"It seems my daughter is a disaster at magical travel," Severus smirked.

"Maybe it's just side-along apparation," Remus suggested. "I have a Muggle cousin that had terrible car sickness until he turned 18. It disappeared when he was in charge of the car."

"Well, we'll have to wait to test that theory," Severus put his arm around Elizabeth. "Enough talk, let's go."

"I wish we could fly," Elizabeth let him lead her to the fireplace.

"Remus and I are past the age when traveling by broom is dignified," Severus said lightly.

"Speak for yourself, old man. You've got a year on me." Remus grabbed a handful of floo powder. "Camden Town Station."


	20. Chapter 20

"Do you think you can talk to the wolves, Remus?" Elizabeth leaned over the fence the separated the moat around the wolves from the path.

Remus pulled her back. "Doubtful. Wolves and… I… are only barely related." He glanced warily at the enclosure. "Canis Lupus," he read the sign. "That's about right."

"Animal- wizard contact is almost unheard of," Severus said quietly, glad that they'd come on a weekday. His child was a walking Ministry nightmare. She seemed to be under the impression, as many were, that Muggles were deaf.

"Let's move on," Remus suggested. "Anyone want ice cream?"

Two ice cream cones later, one for Elizabeth and one for Remus, the little group made their way to the reptile house. "Not afraid of snakes?" Remus looked down at the girl who was holding his hand.

"No. Fish. Birds, except Hedwig."

Severus smirked. He'd seen her duck when the mail came in the morning. "So no 'African Bird Safari'?" He gestured across the path.

"Why the birds?" Remus opened the door of the Reptile House and stepped into the darkness.

"You never know what they're going to do," Elizabeth said, following. "Hedwig doesn't make sudden moves… but Seamus' owl flutters around all the time. Did you know that Professor Dumbledore's bird bursts into flames?"

"He's a phoenix," Severus said.

"Professor Dumbledore?"

Severus chuckled. "No. Fawkes. The bird is a phoenix. He burns and then returns as a fledgling from the ashes." He put his arm over her shoulders.

Elizabeth wandered over to the boa constrictor tank, and Severus stayed back with Remus, watching.

"She's better this summer," Remus commented. "Not as clingy. She would never have walked away from you in a public place a year ago."

"I'm not sure that I'm glad that she wanders off," Severus grimaced. "But you're right."

"She still calls Albus 'Professor Dumbledore'." Remus raised an eyebrow.

"I think it's the… unpredictability. He's very much like a bird. Minerva does the same thing every day, over and over. Elizabeth likes that she knows what to expect."

"Too bad she doesn't help you know what to expect." Remus smirked, the sobered. "Has she been alright? Otherwise? After… the last week of school?"

"She seems relatively unaffected. A few nightmares, a little pain in her forehead, but that's all."

"We had an Order meeting, you know. That night." Remus looked nervous. "He's going to find a new body… are you sure you want Elizabeth at Hogwarts this year?"

Severus' face clouded. The sharpness of his tone that had been so obviously lacking for the last year came back full force. "While the rest of the world might be laboring under the delusion that my daughter will somehow save their lives, I assure you that I don't give a damn about that wretched ball of glass." He glared at Remus. "Anyone who endeavors to damage her childhood any more than it already has been should watch their step, lest I forget what side of the divide on which my loyalties lie."

"Severus, I didn't mean—

"A falsification of filth, that is all that is housed in the Department of Mysteries. I shall not give any credence to something created to give hope to the unwashed masses."

Severus' diatribe was cut short when the relative quiet of the Reptile House was shattered by the scream of a young boy who had found himself face to face with a boa constrictor. Sprinting across the room, Snape snatched Elizabeth from where she stood beside the now-vanished glass. "Dad, I swear! I didn't—

"Hush." He ushered her out into the sun.

"Dad!"

Severus ignored her pleas for his attention, and instead pulled her with him behind the Reptile House and apparated away.

*S*S*

"What happened?" Severus asked softly when she finished vomiting.

"I'm sorry, Dad, I swear—

"Elizabeth." Severus sat her on the sofa and sat on the table across from her. "I'm not angry. We talked about accidental magic, remember? You're going to learn to control it, but with strong emotions… I need to know what you were feeling."

Elizabeth thought for a moment. "I was looking at the boa constrictor. There was this recording as if it were the snake, talking about how it had always been in captivity, and how sad it was. And I just thought about being locked up and how much I don't like it, and… the glass was gone." She grimaced. "Am I going to get in trouble? I mean because there were Muggles?"

Severus frowned. "We'll see. I may well get a 'control your child' letter from the Ministry, but you shouldn't worry. Just try not to free any other animals, alright?"

Elizabeth giggled. "Yes, sir."

"Since our day was cut a little short, why don't we see what Francy can make us for lunch?"

"Where's Remus?" Elizabeth glanced around, suddenly realizing the absence of her godfather.

Severus tried to school his expression into passivity, something that he had every ability to do in the face of the Dark Lord, but often failed at in front of Lily's eyes looking though dark fringe. He waved her toward the kitchen. "Go eat, I need to go out for a moment." He snapped his fingers, and Francy appeared.

"Yes, Master Snape?"

"Francy, please make Elizabeth something to eat, and keep an eye on her. I'll be back shortly."

"Yes, Master Snape." Francy beckoned to the girl. "Come along, Miss Elizabeth."

*S*S*

_Hogwarts 1976_

"_So, I thought we were going to study for Potions after dinner last night," Remus looked questioningly at Severus in the corridor after breakfast. "I waited in the library…"_

"_I thought you'd want to study with Potter," Severus spat out the name like something particularly foul was on his tongue._

"_Sev, I'm sorry about yesterday. James was stupid. I told him so."_

"_I don't need your protection, Lupin." He turned to stalk away, but Remus grabbed his robes._

"_You can't afford to lose another friend right now, Snape."_

"_I can live without 'friends' like you."_

*S*S*

Severus still cringed at the memory, even though now he knew that Lily had forgiven him for calling her… he couldn't even think the word. And Remus had forgiven him, even though it took some groveling. Albus had taken that memory away, leaving him with just the fight in the corridor, but even with his memories fully in returned, he was mortified. _It's a bad habit, Snape. Lashing out at those closest to you. Lily was always scolding about that._ He grimaced. If he could take back the times that his target had been his green-eyed love… but he couldn't. Now he could only hope that Remus would accept yet another apology.

He poked his head through the fire. "Remus? Can I come in?"

Remus was sitting in an armchair in his living room. He glanced at the fire. "I suppose."

Severus stepped through, fighting with himself to avoid the defensive posture he usually took in situations like these. He stood in his friend's living room for a long while, trying to swallow the lump of crow in his throat. "So…" He stared at a point on the wall beside Remus' head. "If we were kids, I suppose I'd be a prat."

"You still qualify." Remus was staring at a point of his own.

"I… Look…" Severus sighed. "I'm just worried about her."

"Well, _I'm_ not trying to hurt her. You need to remember who is on your side."

"I know that you wouldn't hurt her. I didn't mean you. I just hate that prophecy. I don't want anything to do with it."

"There's probably a prophecy out there about you," Remus mumbled. "Man who loses the few friends he has due to arse-like characteristics."

"I'm sorry."

"See, you could have spared me the rambling if you'd led with that." Remus gave his friend a look that he'd almost certainly learned from his mother.

"I _am_ sorry," Severus said again.

Remus nodded. "I suppose that I could forgive you. Again. Proving that I'm the bigger man. Again."

Severus smirked. "I can't imagine that there is anyone who would challenge that fact." He breathed easy again. As much as he'd like to believe that Potions Master Severus Snape did not need friends… he at least needed Remus. "Did you stay after we left?"

Remus nodded again. "I cast a slow-down charm on the snake so they could catch it, and put the glass back. I'm not sure what story they will make up to justify how the snake got out, but I'm sure they'll come up with something. Did she explain what happened?"

"She said that there was a recorded message, explaining how the snake had been raised in captivity, and that those snakes are originally from Brazil. She felt bad for it… apparently my child's accidental magic is linked to pity as well as fear."

"Is it really accidental magic now? I didn't have accidental magic once I'd been to Hogwarts," Remus questioned. "Isn't it wandless magic at this point?"

"I think wandless magic is intentional," Severus said. "I'm not sure… I suppose we'd have to ask Albus."

Remus thought for a moment. "I wonder if she turned off the recorded message as well. I didn't hear it before, so I didn't worry about it when I was 'fixing' things."

Severus shrugged. "Maybe. I suppose they'll turn it back on." He massaged his neck with one hand. "I'll have to work with her control. She's dangerous even without a wand, it seems."

"Well you knew she would be talented. Lily and you rolled into one package?" Remus smirked.

"I should have married Cindy Clawson," Severus muttered.

"That little Slytherin mouse? She couldn't find her way out of a paper bag. How did she even get into Slytherin?"

"Her mother was a Malfoy or descended from Malfoys… or something. Anyway, she was a pureblood. She was dumb and prejudiced at the same time."

"It would never have worked. You were never happier than when Lily was yelling at you."

"Oh, I think I had happier moments," Severus smirked.

"I'd rather not think about that, thanks very much." Remus rolled his eyes.

"I should get back. Elizabeth is home with Francy, and I'm liable to return to find someone in a body bind."

"Francy is the only elf I've ever met who has no qualms about just ignoring a wizard."

"She obeyed my mother, but I never had much interest in garnering her obedience… now I pay." Severus smirked. "Do you want to come over for dinner?"

"No thank you, I'm fine." Remus raised an eyebrow at his friend. "I'm capable of taking care of myself, Sev."

"I'm aware," Severus said, his voice making it clear that he disagreed with Remus' statement. "But just remember… my offer still stands, even after all these years."

"Severus, I'm a grown man. Too old to be crashing on my best friend's couch."

"I was thinking the other room upstairs, but whatever you say."

"I appreciate the offer, I really do. But I'm a dangerous creature, Sev. I can't put you or Elizabeth in that kind of danger." He looked at his hands. "I never want her to have to be rescued from me again."

Severus crossed the room and laid his hand on Remus' shoulder. "Honestly, Lupin. Do you think I'd ask you into my home if I believed that you posed some great threat? Do you think I would have entrusted my daughter to you?"

"Sev, we need to talk about that, you know."

"Talk about what?" Severus narrowed his eyes.

"You know that there was a reason you and Lily chose two godfathers—

"We absolutely do not need to have this conversation."

"Severus." Remus raised his eyebrows. "Sirius—

"Do. Not. Say. His. Name." Severus said tightly.

"He was supposed to be there because during the full moon—

"Doesn't matter. There's always Minerva or Molly to cover for a few days." Severus' body language made it clear that the conversation was over. He turned on his heel and headed back toward the floo. "Just think about it, Remus."

Lupin looked at the empty fireplace and shook his head.

*S*S*

"Dad?" Elizabeth knocked on the lab door, and, hearing nothing, opened it to stick her head down the stairs. "Dad? Are you down there?"

"Just a minute, hatchling. I have things boiling down here." Severus' voice floated up the stairs. Elizabeth was never sure how his voice managed to carry without shouting.

"I just wondered if we can go with the Weasley's to Diagon Alley for school supplies? Ron just wrote and said his Mum says they're going the third week in August sometime. She says they can go anytime it's good for us." She listened, but heard nothing. "Dad?"

"Elizabeth, I need three minutes."

"Fine." Elizabeth scowled at the empty stairwell before shutting the door and going upstairs to throw herself on the bed.

Five minutes later, she heard the lab door close and Severus' footsteps on the stairs. "Elizabeth?" The footsteps got closer until he door opened. "Alright. What did Mr. Weasley want?"

"How did you know I was up here?"

"You're not particularly light footed when annoyed, my girl." Severus sat on the bed and used his long fingers to tickle her ribs.

"Dad!" She giggled, trying to get out of his reach, but he didn't let up until she'd dissolved into a puddle of laughter.

"Is the annoyance gone?" Severus asked, pausing to let her catch her breath.

"Yes!"

"Good." He smoothed her hair out of her face. "Now. What was the question?"

"Ron's mum says that they are going to Diagon Alley the third week in August for school stuff, and wants to know if we can go with them."

"I suppose." Severus straightened the pillow she'd wrinkled with her earlier flopping. "When am I going to get you to stop throwing yourself on the furniture?"

"Maybe when I'm 12," she grinned.

"Speaking of that," Severus stood and motioned for her to get off the bed and follow him. "I want to talk about your birthday."

She stood up and trotted after him, down the stairs. "We don't have to do anything," she said hopefully.

Severus smiled to himself. She really was his daughter. "Actually, I was thinking of going on a little trip."

"A trip?"

"My mother's family has a cottage in Laxey Valley. I haven't been there for years, but I own it as part of my inheritance when my grandfather died." He paused to ask Francy to make lunch before turning back to his daughter. "There is a beach nearby. We can go for this week and next, and still be back in plenty of time for my pre-term work."

"If you haven't been there lately, how do you know it's still there?"

Severus snorted. "I'm sure it's still there. Since when do houses disappear?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Seamus says that his uncle once came home and his whole house was gone. Turns out his aunt had put an invisibility charm on it."

"I think we're alright," Severus chuckled. "I'd imagine your grandparents will want to come for your birthday, but the rest should be an adequate vacation." He gestured to her seat as Francy floated food to the table. "You can go swimming."

"Oh." Elizabeth looked uncomfortable.

"What is it?"

"I can't swim. I mean, Aunt Petunia took Dudley for lessons, but she didn't take me."

Severus gritted his teeth, but had long ago schooled his self-control to not allow his anger to be read on his face. No amount of convincing would keep his child from thinking he was angry with her. He had to be careful. "Then I'll have to teach you, won't I?" He said lightly, filling her glass with milk.

"You have a bathing suit?" Elizabeth giggled at the thought of her always head-to-toe clad father in swim trunks.

"Somewhere, although it may have to be altered." Severus pointed to her sandwich. "Eat, and then we'll go to Diagon Alley. You've gotten too tall for your summer clothes, and I can only stretch them for so long until they give out. We'll get you some new things for vacation and we might as well get your school clothes shopping out of the way."

"But we can go with the Weasleys in August, right?"

"We will wait to buy your books and supplies. We won't have your letter and list until then anyway."

"You don't know what books I need?"

"I know what you need for most things. Potions, of course. Transfiguration has never changed and probably never will. But you have a new Defense teacher, and I've no idea who your grandfather has hired, nor what texts he or she will require."

"Are you going to let me actually go to Defense class this year?" Elizabeth munched on her sandwich.

"Provided that your teacher doesn't try to kill you, I suppose it could be arranged." Severus pushed his chair away from the table. "I would like to continue our lessons in addition. I'll make a final decision once I meet this new professor." He ruffled her hair as he went by. "I want to start something downstairs that needs to simmer for awhile. I'll be ready to leave in half an hour."

"What do you think?" Severus opened looked around the living room of the cottage. "A quick cleaning charm, I think." With a quick flick of his wand, the dust of years past was gone.

"I think it's brilliant," Elizabeth picked up her suitcase.

Severus smiled. "Let's get you unpacked and then a bit of lunch."

"Dad?" Elizabeth followed him down the hall.

"Yes?" He opened the door on the left.

"Are you going to wear your robes while we're here? It's hot."

"It's hot at home too," Severus reminded her. He took her suitcase and put it on the bed. With one quick movement, he popped open the locks and opened the top.

"You wear Muggle clothes when we go to London."

"And I feel ridiculous the whole time." A wave of his wand sent the folded clothing into the bureau across from the bed.

Elizabeth shrugged, and Severus sighed. Another wand flick and he was robeless, standing in black trousers and the black potions jacket he wore buttoned all the way up his neck. "Better?"

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, Dad."

*S*S*

"After breakfast, I think it would be a proper time to start your swimming lessons," Severus announced the next morning over waffles. Elizabeth shifted in her chair and busied herself with cutting her waffle into small pieces. Severus had been finished 20 minutes before she finally ate the last bite.

"I'm going to get changed," Severus said after he banished the dishes. "You do the same, and I'll meet you in the back here in a few minutes."

When he returned, he found his daughter in pink shorts and a white t-shirt. She'd braided her hair into one long braid down her back.

"Where is you suit?"

She pulled up the corner of her shirt to show the dark blue nylon. "Dudley's friend Mark's sister always wore shorts and a t-shirt over her suit to the pool." She looked at him and grinned.

"What?" Severus cast a sunscreen charm over both of them.

She giggled. "You look like a Muggle." She took in his swim trunks and black t-shirt.

"You've seen me dressed as a Muggle before," Severus held out his hand and took hers before leading her out of the house and down to the beach.

"Yeah, but you are _really _Muggle right now," she skipped to keep up with his longer legs until the reached the water's edge.

"Now, if you're quite finished critiquing my wardrobe, let's get situated here." He transfigured two rocks into beach chairs, one green, one red. "That's about it, I would think. Francy sent this bag," he enlarged a duffle he pulled from his pocket. "I believe it has sand toys in it, which I imagine you could use to create a castle of some kind." He dropped the bag beside her chair. "But first things first. Let's get you into the water."

Elizabeth shifted. "Maybe we could just build sand castles today."

"Nonsense. There will be plenty of time for that." He methodically removed the sandals he wore. When she made no move, he ruffled her hair. "Come, hatchling. The summer may be lazy, but the tide won't wait." He waded out to his waist, the water lapping at the bottom edge of his t-shirt. "Just wade out."

Elizabeth eyed the rippling water. "I don't know."

"Elizabeth, I'm right here. You'll be fine." He opened his arms in invitation for her to join him, but still, she hesitated. He waded closer to shore, hoping to coax her to him in shallower water. But when he got close to her, he saw tears in her green eyes. "Elizabeth?" He came all the way out of the water. Reaching out to her, he was startled when she backed away.

"Hatchling," there was a bit of bite in his voice that rendered her still, even as she recognized it as concern instead of anger. "Come here."

"I don't want to go in," she whispered, the tears threatening to spill over.

"Alright. It's alright." Severus moved to sit in his chair. "Come here, Rosie."

Seeing that he was safely on land, she ventured toward her father, allowing him to pull her onto his lap. "You are almost too tall for me to hold you like this." He wiped the offending tears from her eyes. "I'll have to invent a potion that stops children from growing." She offered a weak smile.

"So," he tightened both arms around her. "What is this all about?"

She shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Nothing is as bad as it seems when it's locked in your head." Severus brushed back the strands of unruly hair that had sprung from her braid. "Tell me what is in that head of yours."

She shrugged. "It's hard… can't you just… you know. Look?"

Severus sighed. "Elizabeth, I'd rather not get into the habit of invading your thoughts. You need to build up defenses, not give up your mind so easily."

"Please, Dad?" She turned her eyes on him, Lily's eyes, and he sighed again.

"Just this once," He looked into the windows of her soul, not without noticing that the shape of them was very much like his own, and eased himself gently into her mind. "Legilimens."

*S*S*

Severus quickly found the memory that she wanted him to see. He found himself standing in a park that he didn't recognize.

"_Anyone up for a game of cousin catching?" Dudley shouted over his shoulder when he saw Elizabeth walking by the park after school._

Severus sensed Elizabeth's heart quicken in the part of his mind that was still on the beach. The Elizabeth in her memory quickened her footsteps.

"_If that freak even is your cousin." _Severus didn't recognize the other boys. He only knew Dudley as Dudley from the pictures he'd seen in the Dursley house nearly a year before. He watched his daughter continue to speed up, until the boys were chasing her at a run deeper into the park.

She rounded the lake and Severus found himself holding his breath, willing her to run toward home, not further into the park. As he watched, he marveled for a minute at how much younger she looked. 7? 8? Why was she alone at that age?

What happened next made Severus pledge to never enter his child's mind again. At least not to search for memories of her earlier childhood.

_Elizabeth slipped on the muddy edge of the lake, and the boys took advantage of her unbalance. Shoving her hard, Dudley sent her into the water._

It must have been deep, because Severus saw the waves caused by her struggles by no part of her flailing form. He felt his stomach clench, the breath forced out of his lungs by panic, and he couldn't watch anymore.

*S*S*

He said nothing for whole minutes after he returned, in whole mind, to the beach. He sat, her head trapped under his chin. He focused on trying not to vomit. That memory, he decided, was going straight into his hidden penseive. Of all the torture he'd endured… there were things he didn't need in his head. He'd tuck that memory away with the one of finding Lily's body.

But those memories would never be gone. For that, he'd need to be Obliviated. No, the penseive would only dim the memory. The memory itself was trapped in the basin, but the owner still had the memory of tucking away the memory. It was like remembering through a tunnel.

"Dad?" Elizabeth's voice brought him back from his musings. His eyes drifted to her face and then refocused. "I'm sorry. I should have told you instead of—

"Don't apologize, hatchling." He kissed the top of her head and stood with her arms still clamped around his neck. "Let's try again, alright?"

"Do we have to?" She squirmed a bit in his arms.

Severus raised his eyebrow. "Yes, we do." He rocked her a little. "I don't want you near the water without knowing how to swim. I'm right here. I won't let anything happen, I promise."

"I don't want to."

Severus hid a smile. Elizabeth's past had almost beaten the brat potential out of her, but when faced with fear, she had a stubborn streak that he despaired of ever breaking. When they'd first been reunited, he'd thought she didn't feel fear, but he'd learned over the last year that she did. She just reacted more often with the headstrong nature of a true Snape.

"You have an aversion to milk as well, but I still make you drink it." He carried her down to the water and waded in to his knees.

She pulled her legs up and away from the water as she sensed it lapping at her toes. Pressing his lips together, he considered the predicament for a few seconds before deciding that he was unwilling to go deeper with a terrified child and instead chose to sit in the shallow water.

As the salt water made contact with Elizabeth, she latched herself even more securely to his neck until he felt that he'd never breathe again. "Relax, Rosie." He eased her off his neck. "I've got you, I promise."

It took nearly 20 minutes of sitting in the shallow waves before Elizabeth would relax enough to sit on his lap without choking him. By then, it was time to return to the cottage for lunch. Severus stood, and Elizabeth tightened her hold again. "Don't worry, hatchling." He said gently, carrying her back to the chairs before he put her down. "It's time for lunch. We'll work more tomorrow."

"We don't have to…" She mumbled at her feet.

"Humor me." Severus knelt beside her and forced her eyes to his. "I never want to see what I saw today again. I'll sleep better at night if you can swim." He cast a drying charm over her shorts and t-shirt, realizing that he'd failed to have her take them off before carrying her to the water. He waved his wand again to pack all their belongings and the chairs, and held out his hand for her to take.

"Dad! I'm not a baby."

Severus smiled. "No you are not." He grasped her hand anyway, leading her toward the little cottage.


End file.
